Never Fight Alone
by BloodAvenger42
Summary: A weapon... is it simply a tool? Is it an extension of one's body? Or is it perhaps something much more? Each individual's answer is different and to one Pyrrha Nikos, her answer was clear as day. When she fought with her weapons, two specific weapons to be exact, she always felt that she was never fighting alone. *ON HOLD*
1. Prologue: I Never Fight Alone

Never Fight Alone

Blood.

Fire.

Two things that was abundant on the ruined battlefield that stretched for miles. The perfect aftermath of a massive battle… no… a slaughter. Men and women, whom are meant to work together, point their weapons at one another allowing the real enemy to take advantage thus allowing such bloodshed to occur. The real enemy being the Grimm, soulless beings with one purpose in mind: eradicate all sentient life from the face of Remnant. Even now in this wasteland several of these dark creatures were feeding off of the dead remains strewn about and looking for any stragglers. One certain pack of wolf-like Grimm, or Beowolves, was sniffing around an empty building for any hidden prey. The alpha sniffed along the ground with its pack fanned out behind it to expand their search. Already the pack had fed well enough to last a thousand lifetimes, but for Grimm, the hunger never stopped, there was always more to blood to spill, more carcasses to devour. It was due to this very hunger that when the alpha caught the scent of a living human nearby it's excitement grew tremendously. It howled loud before charging towards the source with its pack right behind it. A shame really, it was so blinded by the idea of such a meal that it became reckless, and recklessness was the bane to many creatures. Thus it was to no surprise that it and the rest of its pack was eradicated in the blink of an eye by a rather powerful human… a powerful Huntress whose eyes weren't even on the foolish beasts, rather her focus remained on another individual in front of her. The said individual chuckled at the death of the Grimm.

"My, my, your power is no joke, how scary."

The huntress didn't respond; her face shadowed by the bangs of her long red hair, which reached the small of her back and hung freely. She wore a military uniform of a certain faction that consisted of a white, long-sleeve, collared shirt, a combat skirt of the same color, a pair of white gloves, and a flowing red cloak. At her hip an impressive sword hung on one side and on her back an intimidating scythe. When the girl didn't answer, the other individual sighed in mock exasperation.

"Jeez, it's rather rude to not answer somebody who is quite obviously talking to you."

The girl continued with her silence. Another mocking sigh sounded from the other individual.

"My goodness, if you're not going to listen to me why bother coming all-?"

"You should know very well why I'm here," interrupted the girl, her eyes still shadowed.

"Oh? So she finally speaks? But pray-tell what exactly are you here for, I seem to have forgotten."

"…"

"Seriously… this rudeness of yours is very unbecoming of you," stated the other individual, "What ever happened to the infinitely kind, always smiling Pyrrha Nikos? Goddess of Victory and Battle?"

Pyrrha stood silently for few moments before slowly raising her head so that her piercing emerald eyes could be seen. Within them they showed a huge range emotions including anger and hatred. The individual chuckled upon seeing this.

"Such anger! You couldn't be blaming all this death and destruction on little old me? Oh wait… you'd be completely justified in thinking that."

Pyrrha's eyes slightly narrowed at the laughter that followed the remark. After a while the individual quieted down suddenly shifting to an almost inhuman tone.

"So then this is the part where I ask… **what are you going to do about it?** "

Pyrrha replied by drawing her weapons and holding them to her sides.

"As I've said before, you already know exactly why I'm here," she said before holding her weapons in a battle pose.

 **"Hehehe… you really think you can win? Human?"**

"It isn't a question of can or can't, there is only one truth: I. Will. Defeat you."

 **"Is that so?"**

Pyrrha closed her eyes.

"I will win."

Suddenly the air around Pyrrha seemed to get heavier as power started to waft from her body. Her opponent looked on with mild interest as two aura-made wings sprouted from Pyrrha's back and thousands of rose petals flew about in a spiral.

 **"Oh?"** the individual stated with their grin slowly growing on their face.

"I will win not for fame, not because of destiny, and not even because of heroism."

Pyrrha's slowly opened her eyes again revealing not her normal emerald pupils, but glowing silver ones, her red hair started to get golden highlights at the tips even as she started to glow a pure white.

"I will win for those I am sworn to protect, those I have lost…"

Two figures appeared behind Pyrrha.

"And those whom I love with all my heart."

The ground around Pyrrha shifted and cracked under the pressure of her steadily increasing aura output.

"I will not falter."

The air seemed to grow thinner around Pyrrha, causing all nearby Grimm to have trouble breathing.

"I will not surrender."

Pyrrha's aura continued to grow brighter.

"For my name is Pyrrha Nikos."

Suddenly Pyrrha disappeared in a burst of speed, reappearing in front of the individual a millisecond later with her weapons poised to kill, both glowing in tangent with Pyrrha's own aura.

"And I never fight alone."


	2. Chapter 1: The Lonely Champion

**Chapter 1: The Lonely Champion**

Bright emerald green eyes snapped open to greet the blaring neon green lights of a digital clock. A hitch of a breath, quickened heartbeats, a swift scan of the surrounding area, followed by a soft sigh. Slowly but surely, Pyrrha Nikos pushed her sheets off her body and sat up, shivering as the cold morning air touched her skin. Her long red hair cascaded down her shoulders and in front of her face some of the strands annoyingly draping over her eye. Pyrrha, still half-asleep, couldn't find it in herself to care as she stretched out her limbs while turning her neck and waist side to side with a series of cracks accompanying the movement. With the blood flowing Pyrrha became a bit more alert as she checked the time on the digital clock on her bedside table.

 **5:00 am**

This was the time that Pyrrha always woke up to the point where there were no alarms necessary to do so. It even happened when Pyrrha went to bed later at night as her internal body clock always had her up at the exact same time, on the dot. That wasn't the worst part; the worst part was that she couldn't even go back to sleep if wanted to.

 _I blame you for this, father._

With a small grumble, Pyrrha slowly stood up and trudged over to the bathroom, her legs automatically taking her down a set path since her eyes were currently failing her. The first thing she did was splash cold water onto her face, the shock of the temperature change jumpstarting her brain even more. Pyrrha then looked up into the mirror above the sink staring at the emerald-eyed girl with a blank look on her face. For a while Pyrrha stared and then like clockwork, her practiced mask appeared onto her face. Just like that the ever-smiling, infallible Pyrrha Nikos was there staring back at her with a bit of a bed head but uncaring about such either way.

 _"The public loves your smile! So keep smiling!"_

Pyrrha narrowed her eyes at her reflection before she stepped out of the bathroom to get a set of workout clothes in order to do her morning warm-up. She walked towards the dressers, which were by the foot of a bed that stood next to Pyrrha's. Pyrrha quietly picked out a pair of sweat pants and a white t-shirt before she turned to walk to the bathroom only to pause to look at the person currently sleeping on the bed near the dressers. The said person was currently splayed haphazardly across the bed; the sheets tossed around most likely due to constant movement a corner of the blanket somehow wrapping itself around the occupant's leg. The said occupant had a mop of blonde hair sitting on his head framing his handsome face even as he slightly drooled onto his pillow. A small snore could be heard from the blonde occupant as his chest rose and fell, which was currently covered by the light blue, fuzzy fabric of his large onesie.

 _"Hey! It's comfortable!"_

Pyrrha couldn't help a small giggle escaping her when the stray memory popped up in her head. This proved to be a mistake as the rhythmic snores suddenly picked up into a staccato-like pace before the boy slowly sat up, before slowly cracking his eyes open to reveal two beautiful ocean blue orbs that surveyed their surroundings sluggishly before stopping on Pyrrha.

"Pyrrha, what time is it?" slurred the tired boy still half asleep.

Pyrrha felt a bit conflicted at that moment. On one hand she felt a bit guilty for accidently waking him up, on the other she couldn't help but gush at how adorable the boy was being, even if the boy was her age at seventeen years. Pyrrha walked over to the side of Jaune's bed and sat there before she placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"It's okay Jaune, I'm just doing my early morning workout, you can go back to sleep," Pyrrha whispered.

"Kaaaay," came the sluggish answer.

Jaune unceremoniously fell backwards into a prone position once more and was snoring again in a matter of minutes. Pyrrha had to fight back another giggle at the display before she took a moment to look at the other side of the room where two other beds resided. Pyrrha looked at the bed closest to the window where a boy with black hair, with the exception of several pink strands, slept in a way that resembled a log. Pyrrha couldn't really tell if the said boy was even breathing, but since he got up every morning she let it be.

 _Lei Ren._

Pyrrha's eyes then traveled to the other bed, which was pushed up against Ren's bed where a girl was curled up in a ball under her sheets with her ginger red hair was barely peeking out from under the sheets. Her breathing also surprisingly quiet despite how she always tended to act during her waking hours.

 _Nora Valkyrie._

Pyrrha then turned her attention back towards the blonde boy sleeping near her.

 _Jaune Arc._

This was Pyrrha's team at the prestigious hunter academy known only as Beacon with the team leader being the blonde boy. Together they were known as team JNPR (Juniper). The team had a rather odd dynamic due to the equally odd mix of personalities. There was Lei Ren, stoic, soft spoken, and at some points fairly lazy, he was probably the quietest boy in all of Beacon. Ren loved his sleep more than anything else to the point where Pyrrha wouldn't have been surprised if he spent an entire week just sleeping. That's where the opposite side of the spectrum came into play in the form of one Nora Valkyrie. Nora was hyperactive, loud, and extremely expressive always speaking out her mind even if it was full of nonsense most of the time. Whenever Nora Valkyrie was awake, Lei Ren soon followed whether he liked it or not. With such polar opposite personalities it was a wonder how the two were such closely knit childhood friends, but their daily interactions just proved just how much their dynamic worked despite that fact. They were the epitome of the analogy: "opposites attract". Moving on from that there was Jaune, the leader of the team. Jaune was a boy with more than a few flaws having snuck into Beacon with forged documents as well as having more than a few self-doubts to the point where he was his own worst enemy. Pyrrha still remembered the night after Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon, declared the official first-year teams of this year. Jaune had been shocked at being appointed the leader of the team to the point where it took a mental toll on him. It was then that Jaune confessed his guilt to his newly appointed team wishing for them to have the capable leader that they deserved. It was there that Pyrrha found the full picture of Jaune's character. The boy was compassionate, honest, and humble, things that Pyrrha loved about her leader, which was why she was the first and loudest to protest Jaune's way of thinking. She couldn't think of a better man to lead team JNPR to greatness and it was to her delight and relief that Ren and Nora held the same mindset as they too adamantly spoke against Jaune's way of thinking. It took a lot of coaxing, but Jaune finally conceded to his team's judgment and the group agreed that this was to be their little secret. Pyrrha could still remember the tears of joy that fell from Jaune's eyes that night.

 _"I don't know what to say… thank you…"_

It has been two months since that day and now Team JNPR is closer than ever with Jaune being more confident in himself and much more knowledgeable. There was another thing that Pyrrha could say about her leader and that was once Jaune set his mind on something, he gives it his all with an almost blind determination. Jaune jumped at every opportunity to improve himself so that he could be the leader that he thought his team deserved, despite the fact that his team already respected just as he was, and thus improved dramatically in a short period of time. While still not at the same level as his peers, he had still managed to get to at least acceptable levels within the two months that he was at Beacon; it was almost scary to think about.

 _Jaune Arc… you are an amazing person._

They were all amazing in their own way. Nora with her hyperactive childishness that always lit up the team's day no matter what, and Ren with his rather unique set of skills (cooking and knitting) and his calming personality, which brought a much needed voice of reason to the group, and finally Jaune with his inspirational determination.

 _And then there's me._

Pyrrha Nikos. Four-time Champion of the Mistral Regional Tournament, top graduate of Sanctum Academy, and model of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flake's Box.

 _And by far the least important member of this amazing team…_

Pyrrha looked at her fellow teammates whom despite their flaws made their strengths shine through and couldn't help but feel left behind. Sure she was good at fighting, possibly the best of her year, but what else could she give? She couldn't cook, knit or be her team's mediator like Ren could. She couldn't bring happiness to everyone's hearts like Nora could. She couldn't inspire her team into working harder like Jaune could, despite it being accidental. Every member of team JNPR contributed something to the team, everyone accept her. Oh her team always assured her that she was an important part of the team, but when it came down to it, Pyrrha knew that she was simply there to fill the fourth slot and if things came down to it, Jaune, Ren and Nora could have easily continued on as a team even if Pyrrha never existed. Honestly though, how could Pyrrha know how she could contribute to her team?

 _I don't even know who I am._

It was a depressing thought, but one that constantly plagued Pyrrha if she allowed herself to muse for too long. She had always been the ever-smiling "invincible" girl for as long as she could remember. There was a time when Pyrrha Nikos was simply the name of a little girl who dreamed of becoming a powerful fighter and carrying the Nikos name to greatness just like her father before her. Those days, however, were long gone and Pyrrha couldn't really remember much from those days. The days where she never had to wear a mask and instead she was… herself… whatever that was.

 _Where are those days?_

Pyrrha suddenly realized she was still sitting on the side of her leader's bed, the realization causing the champion's face to flush a deep red as she forced herself to slowly stand up in order not to wake the blonde boy before she briskly made her way into the bathroom with her workout clothes in hand. She promptly closed the door behind her before she let herself lean on the door for support sliding down until her rear hit the tile. From such a reaction it is without a doubt that Pyrrha had a small infatuation with the young blonde, not a big one mind you (or so Pyrrha tries to tell herself), but it was there none-the-less. There were points where Pyrrha had accidently shown signs of this infatuation towards the boy to the point where the rest of her team noticed and even supported her for it. Such was what she loved about her team, but if only everything went so smoothly. As fate would have it, Jaune Arc was possibly one of the densest people ever to walk the face of Remnant when it came to love. Even when Pyrrha or anybody who had an interest in the boy would drop the most obvious of hints, they would all pass right over Jaune's head. Perhaps it was a trade-off to his work ethic since there were times where he'd forget about the world around him and focus solely upon what he was doing until somebody pulled him out.

 _Such is the way of Jaune Arc._

Pyrrha gave a labored sigh before she got up from her sitting position, and changing into her workout clothes. She then straightened out her hair before tying it up into her signature ponytail before she once again stared at her reflection in the mirror before she quickly made her exit in order to stop her dark thoughts from coming back. Before Pyrrha made to exit her dorm, she took a glance back at her sleeping team.

 _ **You don't belong here.**_

Pyrrha's grip on the door handle tightened a bit as she swiftly opened the door and closed it behind her, relaxing a bit as soon as she heard the soft click, the telltale sign that the door was closed. Unfortunately she didn't relax fully as her previous thought echoed in her mind.

 _ **You don't belong…**_

 _ **You don't belong…**_

 _ **You don't belong…**_

Pyrrha grit her teeth before she pushed off the door she was leaning on and started walking… and then she was power walking… and then she was jogging… and then she was all out sprinting. She didn't know where she was going, all she knew was that she just had to run and get her mind off of these thought plaguing her very soul. And so Pyrrha ran, and ran, and ran until finally she couldn't run anymore and when that happened Pyrrha stopped, placing her hands on her knees as she gasped for breath sweat trickling down her face as she stared at the grass. Soon she started to realize where she was as her senses slowly started to come back to her.

She heard the sway of the grass and the rustling leaves of the trees, the choir of birds greeting the morning sun, the waves of a nearby lake lapping up against sand and rock, and the faint sound of Vale slowly beginning to come life as early morning workers started their rounds.

She felt the cool morning breeze as it danced passed her sending shivers down her spine as well as the slight warmth of the rising sun.

She smelled the fresh air, the grass damp with morning dew, the slight stink of sweat coming from her own sweaty body and the faint smell of coffee from other early risers.

Finally Pyrrha looked up and saw where she was; near the cliff that overlooked Vale over a vast lake, which sparkled as the sun continued to rise, greeting the world with its light. The grass at Pyrrha's feet also sparkled a bit as the dew drops reflected the light being sent through them. It was times like this that made Pyrrha remember just how beautiful Remnant was and how blessed she was in living on it.

 _Thus I should stop having such negative thoughts._

Pyrrha almost giggled at herself as she continued to bask in the ambiance that could only be offered in the early morning… that is until another sound joined the ensemble this one sounding fairly out of place with the rest, but still familiar. Pyrrha smiled before making her way towards the source of the sound, which came from a building that was a bit separate from the rest of the buildings on Beacon's campus. It was also the most unique, holding a bit of a dome shape with a large chimney on the top that let smoke out. This was Beacon's forge/armory where students could modify/repair/maintain their weaponry. Pyrrha came here a few times herself to do some maintenance on her rifle/xiphos/javelin hybrid weapon in which she lovingly named Milo.

Pyrrha pushed the doors of the forge open and looked around. The first thing that greeted her were two massive furnaces used for melting metals in order to shape them however the forger wanted. Various tools were lined on shelves that were nailed to the walls near the furnaces. Pyrrha's eyes looked away from the furnaces towards the rest of the room where several workbenches lined the room in order to give students a space to modify or repair. It at one of these workbenches that Pyrrha spotted a lone figure currently revving a power screwdriver as they mulled over a blueprint. The figure in question was small in stature, having need of a wooden block in order to stand over the workbench with a bright red cloak obscuring most of the figure's body other than a pair of small black-sleeved arms one of which held the power screwdriver. The hood of the cloak was up over the figure's head obstructing that from view as well. Pyrrha smiled upon seeing this.

"Good morning Ruby," Pyrrha called.

The figure or Ruby turned her head towards Pyrrha revealing a pair of sharp silver eyes that almost seemed to glow under the shadow of her cloak and a childish face. Short raven-black hair framed the sides of the girl's face, with the rest hidden within the hood. In all honesty she looked slightly intimidating at that moment, but the moment immediately faded when a bright smile appeared on the girl's face as she put the tool in her hand down and raised her arm to wave, the hand knocking off the hood in the process.

"Morning Pyrrha!" said Ruby cheerfully, her high-pitched voice echoing across the empty forge.

"Working on Crescent Rose again I see?" asked Pyrrha as she made her way over.

Ruby nodded enthusiastically as she turned back to the blue print in front of her.

"Yeah, I had this idea to make my baby's transformations much smoother, but to do that I'd need to make slight adjustments to her exhaust ports as well as..."

Ruby continued to ramble on about her idea almost completely engrossed in the logistics. This was Ruby Rose resident weapon nut and team leader of Team RWBY, whom lived in the dorm right across from Team JNPR. The members of RWBY were four other people that Pyrrha couldn't help but admire.

There was Yang Xiao Long, a buxom blonde with amazing violet eyes who was the self-proclaimed "Pun Queen". Yang was a high-energy, highly positive girl who always had a pun that could make even those most stoic of individuals groan in despair at hearing such blasphemous use of the Valean language. She was very similar to Nora in the fact that she kept her team in high spirits, but on a different note, should one mess with any of Yang's three loves, then the unfortunate soul would be introduced to another Yang Xiao Long, one very frightening Yang Xiao Long. Pyrrha learned of these "three loves" from Ruby as a bit of a warning and they were as follows: Yang's motorbike named "Bumblebee", Yang's hair, and then Ruby. All in all Yang had a very… imposing personality.

Then there was Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee company and resident Ice Queen. Pyrrha didn't have the best first impression with the Schnee heiress as the girl acted like another boorish politician who wanted to get to know Pyrrha better due to her status in Mistral. She also didn't like the heiress due to the fact that a certain blonde leader held a small crush for the heiress if only fleeting. But as the weeks progressed, Pyrrha soon found that Weiss a much more 3-dimensional person that the other stone-faced politicians Pyrrha had met. Weiss may put on a cold front, but in reality she was very caring person, almost acting as a mother hen that at times seemed to come off as overbearing toward her teammates as well as the members of team JNPR. Regardless, when Pyrrha stepped back to see the entire picture, she found the Weiss Schnee wasn't as bad as she previously deemed her to be. She simply needed a bit of an attitude check.

After that was Blake Belladonna. In all honesty Blake was still something of a mystery to Pyrrha. The girl was like the female version of Ren; only she actually excelled at hiding _everything_ about her to the point where Pyrrha had really no way of knowing who the girl truly was. Apparently this also rang true with Blake's own teammates thus slightly separating her from the others. Then to further disconnect her from the world around her, the girl always had a book that she was reading wherever she went, only putting it down to focus on classes that she deemed worthy to pay attention to. Pyrrha didn't know what to think of the stoic girl, but she didn't want to judge her either, knowing that it was not her place to do so. Still, curiosity still plagued the redhead on who this mystery girl really was, especially since the girl seemed to only want to respond to RWBY's team leader and, oddly enough, JNPR's team leader. Perhaps it was due to the position of team leader, Pyrrha may never know.

Then last but not least there was RWBY's leadership… Ruby Rose. As mentioned before, Ruby was a weapon nut, loving everything that was weapon related to the point where she could go on a full day about different weapons and their history. But that was not the most interesting part about this girl, no, the most interesting part was the fact that Ruby got into Beacon two years ahead of anyone in their year, becoming the youngest to start their studies in Beacon. Pyrrha assumed it was because of the young girl's natural talent as a fighter as well as her genius intellect when it came to mechanical hardware. The girl knew the ins and outs of every machine that she touched, able to disassemble a malfunctioning product only to reassemble it with a few added modifications to make it better than before. Sure Ruby's passion was weapons, but her tinkering also included anything and everything mechanical. Couple this with Ruby's high-energy, eccentric attitude and you have quite the interesting girl on your hands. Yet if you were one of the rare few like Pyrrha, then you'd bear witness to another side of the child genius. In Pyrrha's case, it was accidental.

Pyrrha still remembered that day as if it were just yesterday. It happened about three weeks into the school year. Pyrrha was walking back towards her dorm a bit later into the night due to her wanting to get some homework out of the way in order to make room for training. On her way back she spotted Ruby standing outside, alone staring up at the shattered moon. When Pyrrha went out to ask Ruby what she was doing, she found herself frozen under an intense, silver-eyed gaze for a split-second before the young girl quickly switched to her normal persona. That one moment was enough for Pyrrha to re-evaluate this young prodigy before her. Those eyes were very similar to the look her father sometimes had when he looked at a picture of friends long lost. It made Pyrrha wonder just what Ruby had lost to gain such a look in her eyes.

"Pyrrha?"

Pyrrha snapped herself out of her thoughts as those same orbs stared at her with concern while heavily analyzing her in the process. Pyrrha quickly waved her hands disarmingly.

"Sorry, I just came from a workout and I'm not the best morning person, so I might be a bit out of it right now," she stated with an awkward giggle.

Ruby simply stared at Pyrrha for a while, her silver orbs bearing down upon Pyrrha before a smile reappeared on the girl's face.

"Well if you say so," said the young prodigy as she hopped off the wooden box she was on, "I don't know about you, but I'm getting kind of hungry."

Pyrrha blinked before she checked the clock that was mounted near the entryway of the forge. Her eyes widened when she saw that the clock read:

 **6:45 am**

 _Wow… where did the time go?_

"Yes, I suppose it is time for breakfast."

"Well you should take a shower first," said Ruby before she mockingly pinched her nose, "You stink."

Pyrrha flushed at that, forgetting her current state.

"R-Right, I should do that."

Ruby simply let out a laugh as she started cleaning up the workbench.

"You do that, I just need to clean up this mess and then wake up my team."

Pyrrha nodded before she left the girl behind and began her trek back to her dorm room. Along the way she walked passed the statue that portrayed Beacon's founders. Pyrrha stopped for a moment to admire the handiwork. The statue showed two individuals, one holding his sword up high in a heroic pose while the other was a hooded figure that was distinctly feminine holding a more reserved, but still imposing stance. Two individuals that had each other's back no matter what…

 _I wonder if I will ever have that…_

Right then and there an image of a blonde boy with blue eyes appeared followed swiftly by a young brunette girl with silver eyes. Pyrrha's eyes widened before she shook her head.

 _Enough! I need to just get to that shower before everyone else gets up._

With that Pyrrha spun on her heels and left the statue behind to start another day at Beacon Academy.


	3. Chapter 2: Another Day at Beacon

**Chapter 2: Another Day at Beacon**

"So there we were… deep in the bowels of a Grimm infested forest…"

"It was an amusement park."

"We were braving our way through the foliage when all of a sudden we ambushed… by thousands of Ursas!"

"We were greeted by four salesmen."

"With bravery and valor I hefted Magnhild high, smashing any Grimm that dared get too close!"

"She was holding a balloon hammer and kept hitting the salesmen with it."

"Because of my fierce skill and strength, the Grimm were forced to pull back, but alas it was only a small victory as they then returned with the mother of all Nevermore!"

"The salesmen had enough and brought the security over."

"It was at this moment that my brilliant and wise Renny made a quick decision and took flight vowing that we would be back when we have become stronger."

"I apologized for her antics and took Nora out of the park before we got into more trouble… and I pretty much never took her to an amusement park again."

Laughter filled the table at the end of another rather unorthodox tale by Nora Valkyrie and Lei Ren. The audience was none other than the rest of team JNPR and team RWBY sitting across from them. The two teams always sat together when it came time to eat lunch, discussing classes or simply chatting for the sake of chatting. One way or the other, the conversation would somehow lead to Nora spouting an unorthodox tale of valor only for Ren to throw in the hard facts of each and every detail. Pyrrha honestly didn't know which part of it was better between Nora's completely outlandish imaginations that would put Professor Port to shame or Ren's rather blunt facts.

 _Fantasy versus Reality; a sight to behold._

Pyrrha shook her head in amusement at the display by her two teammates beside her as Nora started shaking Ren while spouting something having to do with pancakes.

"Honestly I think Nora should teach Grimm Studies instead of Professor Port, I think everybody would be able to stay awake then," stated Yang with a grin on her face, her long blonde hair as wild as ever.

"Just add Ren as the assistant and you have the dynamic duo."

Next to the blonde, Blake sat silently reading yet another book with a look of indifference on her face. It would have looked like she was completely ignoring the world around her if it weren't for the fact that she was the one who made the sarcastic quip.

"Now there's an idea!" stated Yang, "We should totally ask if Nora can be the teacher for Grimm studies one day!"

"And pray tell why on Remnant you think that is a good idea?" asked Weiss sitting at the other side of Blake looking as prim and proper as ever, her long white hair tied into a side ponytail, her princess look only slightly marred by a single scar that ran down her left eye.

Most would have been intimidated by Weiss' tone of voice and attitude if they had just met her, but for the residents of the table, they played it off as Weiss being Weiss. Yang simply grinned at the white-haired girl.

"C'mon Ice Queen, think of the possibilities! You're just as bored with Port's lectures and you know it!"

Weiss took on a look of indignation.

"I'll have you know that I listen and take notes on everything that the good professor says."

"And yet you still managed to find your face buried into your notes in the middle of the lecture," quipped Blake monotonously while turning a page in her book.

Weiss' face turned red in embarrassment.

"S-Shut up! That was only one time!"

"Three times actually, the third time happened yesterday now that I think about it."

"Wha- I didn't- ugh! Fine! I guess… I do find the lecture a bit… overbearing…" muttered Weiss in defeat but she swiftly continued when she saw Yang's growing grin, "But Professor Port is still a professor at this establishment and we should respect his standing and we are not doing such by talking about _replacing_ him with a student!"

"Aww… c'mon Ice Queen! _Weiss_ you gotta be so _Yang_ ry? Eh? Eh?" said Yang looking around with a wide grin on her face.

At that the entire table was filled with groans.

"Really Yang?" muttered Blake with a sigh.

"One day you guys will understand my vision," said Yang.

"Not in a million years," said everyone else with deadpanned looks.

This caused Yang to pout and brought more laughs around the table.

"I still think getting Nora to teach is a good idea," said Yang, "C'mon guys, you have to admit it's a funny idea. Am I right P-money?"

Pyrrha jumped when Yang called out to her not expecting to be brought into the conversation. Pyrrha looked to the side uncomfortably.

"Uh… I guess it would be intriguing if it were to actually happen?" she said lamely.

"Right?!" said Yang before turning to Weiss, "See? Even Pyrrha agrees!"

This didn't amuse Weiss as she narrowed her eyes at the blonde.

"That's because you drove her into a corner for one, and another point against you is that you're volunteering somebody else into one of your foolish scenarios without their permission."

"That part's easy, hey Nora you'd teach Port's class for one day for some pancakes right?" asked Yang.

"Pancakes?" Nora asked, perking up in excitement at the mere mention of the word.

"See?"

Weiss simply smacked her forehead with a labored sigh. Pyrrha giggled as the girls continued to quarrel about the subject and she took the chance to sneak a peak at the last two members at the end of the table, which just so happened to be the two leaders. Next to Pyrrha, Jaune held a slight frown on his face as he stared down at his plate, his index finger rhythmically tapping his fork. This was a state that the leader of team JNPR got into when an idea enters his mind, usually pertaining to something that would benefit the team as a whole. Pyrrha smiled at her leader in reverence.

 _That's my leader for you…_

Pyrrha then looked across the table towards where RWBY's resident reaper sat and could only let out a slight giggle at what she saw. The young prodigy was currently asleep with her head in her arms and content smile on her small face. The sight was absolutely adorable. Unfortunately it wasn't to last as Yang found it fit for her younger sister to wake up at that moment.

"Hey Ruby, they're serving cookies for lunch today!" said Yang.

In an instant the young leader was sitting up right in an instant with an eager look on her face, her eyes wide.

"Cookies?!" asked Ruby with hope only to deflate when she heard Yang laughing at her expense.

Ruby glowered at her sister.

"Not funny Yang," she stated with what was supposed to be a glare but to everybody witnessing it, it simply came out as a cute pout.

This sent the table into another laughing fit with even Jaune joining in. Suddenly Jaune's eyes widened as he whipped out his scroll with a sense of urgency, one that immediately caused Pyrrha to look over at him in concern. It was then Jaune jumped up with wide eyes.

"Oh crap! Ruby we're going to be late!"

Ruby looked at Jaune for a moment before her own eyes widened before taking out her own scroll as well.

"Ah double crud! I forgot!" she exclaimed before turning to the rest of the table, "Sorry guys, me and Jaune need to go!"

With that the two leaders picked up their trays and dashed towards the nearest wastebasket, discarding the leftovers before leaving the trays and running for the cafeteria exit. The table was silent for a moment as the remaining members tried to process what just happened. Finally Yang spoke up.

"Hey P-money."

Pyrrha shook herself out of her trance and looked over towards the blonde only to rear back a bit when she saw the girl's lilac eyes were now a fiery shade of red.

"Yes?" asked Pyrrha cautiously.

It was always a precarious situation when Yang's eyes turned red. Why? Well when you take into account that such an event means that Yang is activating her semblance and the said semblance usually only activates when the wielder is very angry... well… pretty self-explanatory from there.

"Is Vomit Boy involved with my sister in some way?" asked Yang her eyes boring into Pyrrha.

Ah there was Yang's overprotective behavior. Pyrrha had only see it happen during times when the blonde thought someone messed with precious hair or if somebody messed with her sister. Pyrrha quickly moved to dissuade Yang of the sort, however knowing full well that when it came to anything of the romantic sense, Jaune was probably the least likely to ever instigate such a deed… or even notice.

 _Come to think of it neither would Ruby._

Pyrrha pressed the thought to the back of her mind in favor of focusing on preventing a disaster waiting to happen.

"I'm sure it's nothing Yang, it is very unlikely that Jaune would accelerate anything beyond friendship, especially with Ruby involved," she stated easily.

 _And me…_

It was like that that the fierce red disappeared in favor of playful lilac.

"Oh? Has our resident champion already tried?" Yang asked while wiggling her brows.

Pyrrha felt her face heat up a bit before she looked away.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about…" she denied weakly.

"Oh she's tried, multiple times," said Nora happily.

Pyrrha's eyes widened as she felt more blood rush to her face before she whipped her head towards her teammate in indignation.

"Nora!"

Yang in the meantime leaned forwards in mock anticipation.

"Aaaand?" she asked.

Nora simply smiled happily back at the blonde, it was Ren who finally answered.

"It all passed right over Jaune's head."

The three members of RWBY let out knowing sighs before looking at Pyrrha with pitying eyes. Pyrrha could have sworn she heard their voice chorus the phrase 'Hang in there' causing her to deflate a bit.

"It wasn't _that_ bad…" she muttered.

The entire table sent Pyrrha deadpanned looks causing her to shrink a bit more in her seat. Suddenly Yang slammed a fist into the palm of her hand.

"Alright, this little waiting game has gone on long enough!" stated Yang, "You, Pyrrha, gotta be more assertive!"

Pyrrha sighed at that.

"I've tried being a bit more assertive…" she muttered.

"By 'assertive' you mean the time when you 'aggressively' asked our fearless leader to train with you?" asked Nora.

Pyrrha felt like slamming her head against the table right there even as everyone else laughed at her expense.

"Maybe you should focus more on becoming a huntress rather than wasting time on a hopeless love life."

At those words Pyrrha felt her mood drop even more. The voice was familiar… and it also rang truth.

"I don't believe this conversation has anything to do with you," growled Weiss coming to Pyrrha's defense.

"It was just some advice, take it however you want."

With that footsteps were heard, telling Pyrrha that the person was walking away. Pyrrha simply waited for the person to be gone only for Yang to stand up, her eyes red once more.

"What's your problem bub?" she growled.

The footsteps stopped then causing Pyrrha to sigh and make to calm Yang down only to pause when she spotted a figure standing right behind the blonde. A pair of slender arms encircled the girl's neck as a familiar face moved close to one of Yang's ears.

"Now let's not do anything that you'll later regret, hmm~?"

Yang seemed to freeze up for a moment before her rage returned two-fold as she made to swing at the assailant only the girl to flip away while laughing. Pyrrha's eyes followed the girl as she landed a good distance away from Yang, a mischievous smile on the girl's girl was a fox faunus, a pair of fox ears poking out of her long, dark blue hair which was tied back into a long braid. Add that to her pale skin, slender build, and striking yellow eyes and it summed up the exotic beauty that stood before them. The girl wore a rather unique rendition of the Beacon uniform, wearing the girl's skirt and stockings, and the boy's dress shirt and blazer with the blazer being unbuttoned and the shirt being unbuttoned just enough so that the top of her breasts were showing.

 _Suzuki Aika…_

Suzuki Aika was a name notorious among the students of Beacon, better known under the name, "Succubus of Beacon". Given the fact that Aika's current appearance was a regular occurrence along with the fact that she had the tendency to flirt with anything that walked on two legs and one would find that the name was well deserved. It was a wonder how Professor Goodwitch never caught her for violating dress code. Meanwhile Yang seemed to be ready to tear the said fox faunus to pieces.

"I'm regretting not punching your face in!" growled Yang making to move on her only to be held back by her two teammates.

Aika simply giggled before skipping over to an imposing looking boy with medium length and wild jet-black hair and opal colored eyes. The boy wore the boy's Beacon uniform, forgoing the tie and leaving his blazer unbuttoned. The boy held stoic expression on his face even as his opal orbs lazily locked onto Pyrrha's own emerald ones.

 _Ian Reinhardt._

Ian Reinhardt was also a name that was fairly well known both due to the fact that he was on the same team as Aika as well as her team leader and the fact that he probably had the crappiest personality among the student body. Even Cardin Winchester, resident bully of the first years, was a saint compared to Ian. The boy always had the rudest comments to make with zero tact whatsoever and always seemed to look down on his peers other than Aika. While never laying a hand on anyone else, his words had a way of crushing even the most optimistic of souls due to the harsh truth that they held. The worst part was, that nobody would really tell the boy off due to the fact that he was also extremely competent in combat, able to take on any student opponent from first years to third years. Then again Ian was technically a third year himself.

Yes, both Ian Reinhardt and Suzuki Aika were registered as third years in Beacon, entering the academy two years early due to their prowess in battle with young Ian being promoted to team leader by Ozpin after showing his aptitude for leadership. The team was known as IMPA (Impact) and was said to be the strongest team after the late team STRQ. Due to unforeseen consequences, however the team disbanded and both Ian and Aika were held back two years due to refusing to find other teammates, thus leaving them as they currently were: "special cases". Students speculated that Ozpin had a soft spot for the two and thus allowed them to do whatever they wished while others theorized that the two were actually criminals and Beacon served as their prison. The rumors circulated everywhere about the two, but Pyrrha knew better than to believe them. Hell, she was part of the rumor mill as well with her fame as the four-time Mistral Champion.

 _Still… he could at least be a bit gentler with his delivery…_

Pyrrha had witness several of Ian's brief words of "advice", all of them usually pointed at somebody else, today marked the first day that he addressed her specifically. In all honesty, those words hit Pyrrha harder than they probably should have. It was true that she should be focusing on her studies more than her love life… but it's not like she could help it…

"Is there something you want to say?" asked Ian.

Pyrrha broke from her musings and was embarrassed to find that she was still staring at Ian. Pyrrha quickly broke eye contact suddenly finding her half eaten food to be extremely interesting. There was a pause before Ian let out a huff and the sound of his footsteps were heard once again followed by the skipping of Aika right beside him. Pyrrha didn't dare look up until the sound of their footsteps faded away.

"Well… that was a thing," said Yang seeming to have calmed down.

Suddenly the cafeteria was bustling with life once again making Pyrrha realize that the entire room was silent throughout the exchange. Pyrrha could already hear whispers circulating.

 _"I never thought someone like Nikos would take that from Reinhardt!"_

 _"I feel sorry for her…"_

 _"What did Reinhardt mean when mentioned Nikos' love life?"_

 _"Do you think Reinhardt and Nikos…?"_

Pyrrha quickly shut out the whispers letting out a labored sigh.

"Are you alright Pyrrha?"

Pyrrha looked over towards Ren who had a look of concern on his face with Nora looking at her as well. Pyrrha smiled gratefully towards her caring teammates.

"I'm quite well thank you for asking, just a bit… shaken is all."

"Anyone would be after that," said Yang, "That guy was _Ian_ timidating."

Collective groans immediately followed Yang's comment.

"We're going to be late for class, let's go everyone," stated Weiss, picking up her tray everyone else following suit.

"Oooh c'mon _Weiss_ 'o serious?"

"Yang…"

"Aw c'mon, you gotta admit that was clever!"

Pyrrha shook her head the girls' antics her mood slowly lifting up again.

 _Just another day at Beacon…_


	4. Chapter 3: Cold Metal

**Chapter 3: Cold Metal**

 _"TRAINING LEVEL 87 COMPLETE. A MANDITORY TEN-MINUTE RECUPERATION PERIOD WILL NOW COMMENCE."_

Pyrrha sighed as she finished yet another training simulation in one of Beacon's many private training rooms. The training room itself was rather bare, most of it taken up by the simulator platform and several benches surrounding it. A couple of windows lined one side of the room opposite of the doorway allowing the orange glow of the setting sun to glisten onto the ceiling. The effect was a bit jarred, however due to the florescent lights that lined the ceiling, dutifully keeping the room lit up as the natural light became dimmer. Not that Pyrrha really paid much attention to those types of details, at least not until recently.

 _Guess I'm becoming a bit more sentimental about those types of things._

Pyrrha let out a small laugh at herself as she wiped a single tear of sweat rolling down the side of her face, her breath still as even as it was when she first started. Pyrrha let a small frown settle upon her face as she stared down at her current set of arms, which were served her dutifully throughout her years as the Mistral Champion: Milo and Akouo. Both had their own stories of creation both of which were precious to Pyrrha without a doubt.

Akouo was a shield created to replicate the one once that belonged to the ancient war hero, Pyrrhestus Nikos who led Mistral forces through many victories and earning the title "God of Victory" among his men. Many in Pyrrha's family saw the girl as a reincarnation of the legendary hero and thus named her thus and saw it fit to arm her with the very same shield that the Nikos family took pride in. Pyrrha's uncle, Ulysses Demopoulos, a master blacksmith, had simply created the shield to bear the same likeness of the original not really taking into account how it would affect the wielder. Thanks to Pyrrha's semblance, such an oversight wasn't a very big deal.

Then there was Milo, a weapon that Pyrrha actually had a hand in creating alongside her uncle and some of Mistral's finest hybrid blacksmiths. The weapon was the very pinnacle of hybrid weaponry in the world and was the pride of all of Mistral with the ability to shift into four different weapon variations in any order. The first and default mode of Milo was the sword mode, taking a form similar to that of the ancient xiphos as used by ancient Mistrali warriors. The second of the transformations was the rifle mode, which took the form of an improved Z9 Octavia, a rifle model used by Mistrali forces during the first Great War. The next was the javelin, a bit of a combination of Milo's sword and rifle form in order to make it an extremely deadly projectile for any who stand in its way when thrown. The last, but just as impressive, mode was the spear mode, which was basically elongated version of Milo's javelin form, the form itself reinforcing the shaft in order to allow Pyrrha to engage against the foe with the battle style of a pole-arm user.

With the neigh unbreakable Akouo and ever versatile Milo in Pyrrha's arsenal combined with Pyrrha's natural grace in combat and her semblance all the ingredients were present to create the "Goddess of Victory" Pyrrha Nikos…

Pyrrha stared down at the weapons in her hands… both created mostly by others in order help Pyrrha become the best champion that Mistral had to offer and the greatest warrior that Remnant has ever seen. So much time and effort was made into creating both that Pyrrha couldn't refuse them… even if she wanted to.

 _"You are Pyrrha Nikos, the Mistral Champion and with Milo and Akouo at your side, you are the very pride of Mistral!"_

Pyrrha a rather familiar feeling bubble up at those words. The words of her father the first time Pyrrha had ever held both Akouo and Milo together. At the time she had felt a bit awkward, but proud of those words, naively thinking that she would become the hero that she had always dreamed of becoming, able to help others in their time of need. It didn't matter if the weapons were made by others, it didn't matter that the balance was all off, it didn't matter that Pyrrha could feel no real pride in the weapons she wielded, all that mattered was that she was able to help people… right? Yet, as her tournament days dragged on, Pyrrha had noticed something about the weapons in her hands… or rather she finally was able to acknowledge it.

 _These weapons aren't meant for me._

No. Milo and Akouo, while they were indeed impressive feats of Mistrali craftsmanship and have served Pyrrha faithfully throughout all her fights, they were never built for her. Not for Pyrrha, the girl, but Pyrrha Nikos the warrior, the invincible goddess, the Four-time Mistral Champion, the ever-smiling, humble warrior.

Pyrrha stared at Akouo, which hung heavily on Pyrrha's left arm.

 _Heavy._

Pyrrha looked over at Milo, held loosely in javelin form.

 _Annoying._

These were the thoughts that circled Pyrrha's head from time to time upon holding these weapons, these symbols of her… "achievements".

 _"TEN-MINUTE RECUPERATION PERIOD HAS NOW ENDED, WOULD YOU LIKE TO PROCEED TO THE NEXT LEVEL?"_ rang the rather jarring synthetic voice of the VI unit tasked with managing the simulations.

Pyrrha sighed as she rolled her shoulders.

"Yes."

 _"ACTIVATING TRAINING LEVEL 88, THE SIMULATION WILL NOW COMMENCE IN 10… 9… 8…"_

Pyrrha stopped listening as the countdown commenced her mind wandering for a split second to the weights in her hands. It was said that a warrior's weapons were like an extension of the warrior's soul reflecting a bit of the inner workings of the warrior's heart, their passions, their pasts, and who they truly are. A warrior can never be complete until they are fighting with their weapons in their hands fighting with the elegance and grace with their battle partners…

 _So why do I feel so… incomplete whenever I fight?_

Sure Milo and Akouo were created by others, but Pyrrha was still proud of them… wasn't she? They served her for the longest time, and had never failed her in any battle she had fought… right?

 _"3… 2… 1."_

Suddenly Pyrrha's senses entered their natural battle state as Pyrrha crouched into a ready position. Almost immediately after the VI announced the last numeral, a holographic ursa was spawned. The ursa charged in attempting to claw at Pyrrha's seemingly unprotected back. Pyrrha quickly threw Akouo onto her back, blocking the incoming strike before pointing Milo over her shoulder extending it into spear form causing the point to pierce right through the ursa's unprotected chin, an insta-kill. Pyrrha had no time to think about it however as five beowolves charged in. Pyrrha nonchalantly flipped Milo into sword mode while taking Akouo off her back and tossing it like a Frisbee at one of the beowolves at high speed thanks to her semblance. The speed caused Akouo to cleave the unfortunate beowolf's head clean off before Pyrrha had Akouo flying into the rest of the beowolves getting the same result before recalling Akouo to her arm.

 _Heavy…_

Pyrrha shook her head and brought her focus in as twelve more beowolves were spawned. It continued on like this for several minutes, with certain waves of Grimm being spawned for Pyrrha to fight, all simulating different scenarios, the order always being random. Pyrrha dispatched of them all fairly easily, even when it got to the final wave where she to fight two ursa majors. Before she knew it both simulated Grimm were down for the count before they could even move.

 _"TRAINING LEVEL 88 COMPLETE. A MANDITORY TEN-MINUTE RECUPERATION PERIOD WILL NOW COMMENCE."_

Pyrrha sighed as she allowed her arms to hang limply to her sides suddenly feeling fatigued. The entire time she was fighting… it was as if something was holding her back… but she couldn't place what…

 _No._

No of course she knew what was holding her back. Pyrrha stared down at the weapons in her hands. The weapons that were not made for her, the weapons that simply shared the same place of birth as her… nothing more. Pyrrha shook her head.

 _Enough Pyrrha! Pull yourself together!_

Pyrrha nodded to herself before sheathing Milo and Akouo and marching out of the training room with the intent of getting back to her dorm so that she could take a shower and hopefully get her mind off these rather troubling thoughts.

"Pyrrha!"

Pyrrha jumped a bit at the sudden noise and turned around only for her smile to widen when she spotted familiar mop of blonde hair alongside a familiar bright red cloak. Jaune was currently waving at her with a wide smile on his face while Ruby seemed to be talking enthusiastically to somebody that was standing behind Jaune. Pyrrha briefly wondered who was behind Jaune, but thought better of it, knowing that she'd find out soon enough. She raised her hand to wave back at Jaune as they got closer.

"Hello again Jaune," she greeted happily.

"Did you finish training?" asked Jaune.

Pyrrha nodded.

"Yes, just now actually, I was headed back towards our dorm room to get showered and changed."

Jaune smile widened.

"Great! We can go back together!"

Jaune turned to Ruby.

"Right Ruby?"

Ruby looked to Jaune with a confused look before turning towards Pyrrha causing her look to morph into a happy grin.

"Hey Pyrrha!"

Jaune promptly face-faulted while Pyrrha giggled nervously as she waved back.

"Hello again!"

Jaune got up and stared at his fellow leader with a deadpan.

"Ruby… sometimes you can be pretty mean."

Ruby simply cocked her head at Jaune, an innocent look on her face to the point where Pyrrha couldn't tell if Ruby was just messing with Jaune or was actually confused by the whole ordeal.

"Aww~. You two are just adorable~!"

Pyrrha felt herself freeze at the familiar voice. Before she knew it, Suzuki Aika herself popped out from behind Jaune pulling Ruby into a hug, a sultry smile on her face. Ruby struggled feebly in the fox faunus' grip.

"Aika! Get off!" whined Ruby.

"Nope~!" sang Aika as she hugged Ruby close rubbing her cheek against Ruby's hair

Pyrrha stared at this exchange before turning to look at Jaune only to blanch when she spotted a familiar opal-eyed boy standing beside him. Pyrrha was _not_ hoping to see this particular guy anytime soon, especially after her first encounter with him. Luckily he seemed to not be paying much attention to her… in fact…

"Has she always been like this?" asked Jaune in wonderment.

"Not always, but she has been like this for a while," answered Ian nonchalantly.

Pyrrha stared as her leader conversed with the notoriously cruel Ian Reinhardt like they were old friends. Pyrrha had to hold back a snort.

 _Leave it to my team leader to make friends without even considering the backstories… then again that's what I love about him._

Pyrrha felt a bit of blood rush to her cheeks at the throught.

 _"Maybe you should focus more on becoming a huntress rather than wasting time on a hopeless love life."_

And at that moment her mood darkened instantly, her thoughts going back to the cold metal burdens that pressed against her back.

 _So I focus on being a huntress. Then what? I have nothing to improve._

Pyrrha felt her fists clench at her sides.

 _I have hit the wall that is my potential a long time ago._

"Pyrrha?"

Pyrrha looked towards Jaune who looked at her with concern. Her eyes then trailed down towards the sword strapped to his waist. The sword that was a "hand-me-down", as Jaune called it, something given to wear as a badge of pride, a very similar story to Pyrrha. Unlike Milo and Akouo, however, Jaune's weapon was one that seemed to sync with Jaune despite him being green in the combat department. Pyrrha could feel it every time she and Jaune clashed in their private practice sessions on the rooftop. Pyrrha could practically taste the amount of potential Jaune had while wielding that sword… as if it were specifically built for him.

 _So why can't I have had the same?_

"Pyrrha."

Pyrrha slowly looked towards Ruby, whose carefree smile was absent, replaced by a frown of concern.

"Are you okay?" Ruby continued walking up to Pyrrha.

As the girl did, Pyrrha caught sight of the compacted weapon resting on the small of Ruby's back, the weapon that the small prodigy had created with her own two hands. Pyrrha could still remember watching Ruby's fights, her monstrosity of a hybrid weapon at her side. It didn't have as many modes as Milo, but it somehow it was more versatile… Ruby made it more versatile.

 _So why is it I can't do that?_

Jaune and Ruby, they both had an endless amount of potential in both their leadership roles and their overall combat ability. Ruby had an endless amount of creativity in her head and a weapon that could help make her dreams reality. Jaune had an insatiable drive to improve and he had a weapon that inspired him to be even greater.

 _What do I have?_

"Nikos!"

Pyrrha was forcefully jostled out of her thoughts as someone grabbed her by the shoulders and physically shook her. Pyrrha blinked and almost yelped in surprise when she spotted Ian in front of her, his cool opal eyes staring into her own emerald eyes.

"W-what is it?!" squeaked Pyrrha trying her best to regain her bearings.

Ian looked unimpressed as he simply let go of her shoulders and turned back towards her leader who still held a look of concern on his face.

"Well, she's back to normal," stated Ian.

Jaune simply narrowed his eyes at Pyrrha, causing her to flinch.

 _Damn it, I let my guard down, I can't let that happen._

Pyrrha took a deep breath, before she allowed herself to smile reassuringly towards Jaune.

"Sorry everyone, training must have taken more out of me than I thought," she said.

Jaune's looked didn't waver, Ruby's expression still remained a frown of concern, and Aika… well she actually held no expression on her face… although she wasn't smiling anymore. Ian however held a look of absolute disgust as he shook his head and pushed past Pyrrha.

"You know Nikos, sometimes I wonder if you're actually made of plastic," he grumbled, "Cause nothing you do is genuine."

Pyrrha managed to keep her mask firmly planted on her face, even as she mentally reeled at Ian's words.

 _Plastic. Not Genuine._

Pyrrha slowly turned her head to watch Ian walk away.

"C'mon Aika, I wanna get to bed."

"Aw… but I wanted to hang out with Ru-Ru and Jay-Jay a bit more…" came the childish reply of Ian's partner.

Ian simply kept walking causing Aika to sigh heavily before skipping after Ian, not even sparing Pyrrha a passing glance. Pyrrha closed her eyes and breathed deeply before she turned back around to face the remaining team leaders. Jaune walked up to Pyrrha and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You don't have to say anything," he said with a small smile, "Not until you're ready."

Pyrrha's eyes widened as her eyes followed her leader's movements.

"When you are, I'll be there to listen to what you have to say," continued Jaune before stopping and turning back to look at Pyrrha, grinning full force, "I owe you at least that much."

Pyrrha felt warmth in her heart as she smiled back gratefully.

"I will Jaune… I promise."

Jaune nodded firmly before throwing his hands up in the air.

"Welp, time to head back to the dorm, who knew leadership class would take such a toll mentally," he stated.

"Leadership class?" asked Pyrrha in confusion.

"That's where Jaune and I went during lunch," supplied Ruby from beside Pyrrha.

Pyrrha yelped out loud this time, having completely forgotten about Ruby. The young prodigy didn't seem amused in the slightest by this reaction.

"What? I was here the whole time!" pouted Ruby, her cheeks puffed out.

Pyrrha bowed in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry…"

"Bah, never mind that, you need to hear how ridiculous this class was," said Ruby previous indignation seemingly forgotten, "It went like this…"

Ruby proceeded to describe the so-called "leadership" class as the trio made their way back to their dorms, Jaune chiming in every once in a while along the way whether it was to fill in a gap or correct something. Pyrrha couldn't help but observe the two as they chatted amicably with her and one another.

 _How can I forget?_

Pyrrha smiled ruefully to herself as she watched on.

 _Sure I hit a wall… but if it weren't for me getting to where I am now… I would have never been about to meet these two amazing people…_

Pyrrha looked at Jaune and Ruby, their smiles and positive attitude proving infectious.

 _I'm glad I met you._


	5. Chapter 4: Ill Omen

**To the esteemed reader,**

 **I would like to apologize profusely for how late this update was. Between life and writer's block it was extremely difficult for me to find time to write quality content for you to my complete frustration. Have no fear, as you can clearly see I have overcome such a hurdle and I believe I have found myself a schedule to work around. I will still be following my routine of uploading a chapter every two weeks during the weekend, but instead of focusing on one story, I have decided to rotate between three different stories in order to keep my ideas fresh. Yes, I know that will mean that updates will likely take longer for a single story, but I'm sure as I continue to hone my craft, writing will come a little easier and I'll be able to update more frequently. Until then I hope that you will still continue to join me on this adventure and perhaps take a look at my other ventures as well!**

 **Sincerely yours,**

 **BloodAvenger42**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Ill Omen**

 _"Where the hell did they all come from?!"_

 _"We're surrounded!"_

 _"How did it come to this?!"_

 _"Look out!"_

 _"Pyrrha!"_

 _"NOOOOOO!"_

Pyrrha's eyes snapped open and a mere second later she was sitting upright taking large gasps of air all while rapidly taking in her surroundings. When her eyes met the familiar setup of her dorm she found herself slowly relaxing and it was then that she realized that she had her sheets in a death grip, her knuckles white due to how tightly she had her hands clenched. Pyrrha slowly loosened the grip of her hands, allowing the sheets to collapse onto her lap. It was also at this time that Pyrrha realized that she was drenched in sweat causing the cool air of the dorm to become more apparent to her body sending a shiver down her spine.

 _So it was just a dream…_

A dream… where she couldn't remember all the details… but she remembered hearing voices…

 _"Pyrrha!"_

Pyrrha's eyes narrowed. That voice at the end… it sounded so familiar… It was then that Pyrrha shook her head rapidly slapping her cheeks lightly.

 _No use worrying about the details of a dream that doesn't mean anything._

With that Pyrrha looked over at the clock and almost groaned at what the clock read:

 **4:40 am**

 _Is getting a decent amount of sleep too much to ask for?! Apparently so!_

Pyrrha sighed before she dutifully stepped out from under her sheets and made to get ready for yet another day at Beacon. She stepped into the bathroom and turned on the light before turning on the sink watching as water flowed down from the steel nozzle. Pyrrha dipped her hands under and splashed the cool water onto her face jolting her senses with the sudden temperature change, she then stared down at her hands, watching as the water that still managed to cling onto her skin surrendered to gravity's will, traveling on its set course down the creases of her hands…

 _ **The sticky red substance smeared across her hands slowly dripped to the floor.**_

Pyrrha blinked staring at her hands, which were still wet with water… and nothing else. Suddenly Pyrrha realized that the sink was still running and quickly shut the tap, slowing the flow of the water until only a small drop appeared every once in a while. Pyrrha couldn't help but watch as each drop of water rhythmically fell, each drop making a small _plop_ sound when it hit the metal cork that was built into the sink.

 _ **Each drop was a piece of life fade away from existence joining the pool of red on the dirt floor.**_

Pyrrha shut her eyes and shook her head violently.

 _What is with me this morning?!_

Pyrrha let out a labored sigh.

 _I should get to my morning warm up as soon as I can, maybe the exercise will take my mind off of things._

With that in mind Pyrrha briskly made her way towards her dresser, taking the necessary clothes out before heading back towards the bathroom.

"Pyrrha?"

Pyrrha cursed under her breath before she looked sheepishly over her shoulder at Jaune who sat up rubbing his eyes with his fists.

"Sorry, Jaune did I wake you?" she whispered apologetically.

Jaune shook his head with a small grin.

"It's fine, just couldn't sleep is all."

Pyrrha frowned in worry.

"Oh…," she said not really knowing what to say, "Is… everything alright?"

Jaune quickly waved his hands disarmingly.

"Nothing to worry about here," he said quietly, "I just… I don't know, I guess my body decided that right now was the time to wake up…"

Jaune took towards the clock and blanched when he saw the time.

"Which is apparently at five o'clock in the morning…"

Pyrrha giggled at Jaune's expression.

"Well now that you're up, what are you going to do?" she asked.

Jaune looked at Pyrrha before looking back towards his bed.

"I think I might try to go back to sleep, no person should be up this early," he stated.

Pyrrha mock pouted at that.

"Hey… I get up every day at this time."

Jaune's head whipped around towards her with wide eyes.

"How are you still standing?" he stated barely keeping his voice at an acceptable level for those still asleep.

Pyrrha simply tilted her head with her smile still in place.

"I've always been getting up this early since I was little, part of my… training regime during my tournament days…"

Pyrrha felt her smile ebb a bit at the memories, but was quick to catch herself from physically showing her discomfort of the subject. Luckily it seemed that Jaune hadn't noticed since he simply sighed heavily.

"I know you're probably sick of hearing this by now, but you're amazing Pyrrha."

Pyrrha simply giggled in response before she stood up.

"Well, I'm going to change and head out, good luck getting more sleep," said Pyrrha.

"Yeah…" answered Jaune, still amazed by Pyrrha's ability to get up at this time everyday.

 _Believe me Jaune it's not on purpose._

Pyrrha kept up her smile as she turned and walked towards the bathroom with thoughts of having a good day today as well, her interaction with her goofy leader brightening up her morning considerably.

 _ **"He's going to die you know."**_

Pyrrha froze right at the entryway of the bathroom, her eyes wide. She slowly surveyed her surroundings only to find nothing out of the ordinary. Pyrrha looked behind her to see Ren and Nora still asleep and Jaune in the process of getting back under his sheets, his back turned towards her. Pyrrha's grip on her clothes tightened as she once again tried to focus her thoughts.

 _I don't know what is going on this morning, but it really needs to stop._

With that thought, Pyrrha made her way into the bathroom to change trying her best to ignore the nagging feeling at the back of her skull.

* * *

Pyrrha sat on the grassy cliff side that overlooked Emerald Forest staring out towards the mountainous terrain beyond. The view was one that most would imagine seeing on a canvas with the great peaks towering in all their glory and majesty and with dark clouds hovering around the very tips obstructing them from view and leaving a rather ominous aura. Pyrrha even spied a couple flashes of lightning coming from the clouds completing the slightly daunting, but no less beautiful picture before her.

In all honesty studying the details of the weather phenomenon calmed Pyrrha of her previous thoughts earlier in the morning, allowing her to actually enjoy everyday routine. The dark thoughts that had entered her mind ever since she had woken up would not leave her and in fact were still lingering somewhere in the back of her mind, but for now they were at least being held at bay.

Pyrrha closed her eyes with a sigh.

 _Great and now I'm starting to think about them again._

"An ominously beautiful sight, is it not?"

Pyrrha nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of the voice right beside her only barely managing to keep her composure enough to turn towards the source of the voice only to see one of the last people she expected to see right beside her. Sitting right beside her was Aika in all her glory, her ears twitching every once in a while, her long hair gently fluttering in the breeze, her brilliant yellow eyes staring at the same scene Pyrrha had looked upon not too long ago. Pyrrha gulped in order to calm some of her nerves down, although some of the tension didn't go away especially since the way the two of them had parted yesterday wasn't really on the best of notes.

 _"You know Nikos, sometimes I wonder if you're actually made of plastic. Cause nothing you do is genuine."_

Ian's words slowly came back like the stinging pain of recently burnt skin causing Pyrrha to involuntarily wince before controlling herself. Luckily, her companion didn't seem to notice, or really care for that matter, opting to continue staring ahead of her. Pyrrha, not really knowing what to say, stared out towards the mountains as well, allowing an awkward silence to ensue with only the sounds of nature to filling the void. All the while Pyrrha's mind was racing in a heated internal debate.

 _Should I… say something?_

Pyrrha thought of Aika's expression right before she left with Ian yesterday. A smile that was bright and happy just like Jaune's or Ruby's… but without the usual light that the two had. In fact it was actually akin to the one that Pyrrha imagined was on her own face pretty much everyday, in fact Pyrrha was sure she had unconsciously put that smile on her face when Aika made her presence known.

"Do you believe in reincarnation?"

Once again Aika caught Pyrrha off guard with the sudden and completely random question presented to her.

"W-What?" Pyrrha found herself sputtering, completely losing her composure for a moment.

This seemed to amuse the faunus girl as a smug smile appeared on the previously blank face.

"So the Mistral Champion is human after all," Aika crooned.

Pyrrha felt herself flinch at the rather biting comment that was thrown at was that question just a ploy to get a reaction from her? Was that Aika's game?

 _Understandable given who I am and who I understand her to be…_

Pyrrha simply lowered her gaze, already feeling her 'plastic' smile falling back into place as she stared at the tree line before her.

"Sleeping well lately?"

Yet another sudden and random question from Aika, only this time Pyrrha didn't take the bait, instead opting to answer with a straight face.

"I have been sleeping quite well, thank you for asking," said Pyrrha in an almost sickeningly polite manner.

From the corner of her eye, Pyrrha saw Aika's smile turn more into her signature fox grin.

"Ho? Now is that the entire truth, Nikos?"

Pyrrha felt a familiar feeling bubble up in her chest, one that made the hand that usually wielded Milo involuntarily twitch and one that Pyrrha had always suppressed in order to keep her mind calm during her fights. Pyrrha took a deep breath before answering in a steady voice.

"I would like to believe so… although I do apologize if I caused a misunderstanding," said Pyrrha smoothly, "I guess we probably don't know each other well enough to really read one another perfectly."

This answer only seemed to cause Aika's smile to practically split her face as a lofty giggle left the girl's lips. It was then that the girl finally turned to face Pyrrha, a gaze that Pyrrha immediately made to return resulting in a stare down between the two girls. Two fake smiles, two intense stares, neither willing to back down.

 _I am not the Mistral Champion for nothing._

Pyrrha was determined to win this mental battle, just as she had in the countless battles of the arena, she was determined to no win over this girl who acted like she knew everything about her she wanted…

 _No… that's not why I'm doing this…_

Pyrrha continued to stare as a mental dilemma pervaded her thoughts. Why was she trying so hard? Pyrrha could have easily just ignored Aika's words and continued to answer politely as she had before. She had done it many times to the media hounds back in Mistral so why was this situation so different?

"So are you going to kiss me or keep me waiting?"

For the third time that morning Pyrrha was caught off guard and this time Pyrrha found it extremely hard to keep her reaction in check, unable to stop the slight heat that made its way to her cheeks and her eyes widening by a small margin.

 _What kind of question was that?!_

Aika seemed to catch onto Pyrrha's slight reaction as she started to double over in laughter, breaking her intense stare and allowing Pyrrha to feel a bit of relief… as well as dissatisfaction.

"You make it too easy!" said Aika wiping a tear from her eye as she continued to giggle at Pyrrha's expense.

Pyrrha managed to bring herself back under control as she stared pointedly back at the mountains.

"Is there any reason in particular that you are out here this early?" asked Pyrrha.

"Oho? Did I hit a nerve? My, my, Ian might actually be wrong in calling you robot~!" sang Aika.

Pyrrha didn't answer Aika, refusing to take the bait again, refusing to let her guard down again. This time she would be ready for any surprise attack she would-.

"He's going to die you know."

Pyrrha felt her entire body go rigid in an instant. The words came in a whisper through her left ear, the ear that was at the opposite side of her current companion… in the voice of her said companion.

In an instant all Pyrrha's dark thoughts returned full force. The images, the screams, all of it.

 _ **"He's going to die you know."**_

Pyrrha rounded on Aika ready to demand answers… only to see that the faunus girl was no longer sitting beside her. Pyrrha was on her feet in an instant her eyes searching for Aika only to find that she was now alone at the cliff side. She was alone with this sinking feeling that made Pyrrha sick to her stomach and caused her to shiver slightly. All the while the words… Aika's words just wouldn't leave her mind, constantly repeating all while an image of Jaune's smiling face, an image that would usually ease Pyrrha's heart, only added to Pyrrha's growing anxiety.

Pyrrha immediately took her practice meditative position, placing her hands on her hips and straightening her back.

 _"It is always important for a warrior… or anyone really, to be calm minded in any situation. Remember this well my little tigress."_

Words from a time long lost, but wise words told to her by her father that helped Pyrrha calm down to an acceptable level. Whatever was happening this morning must just be due to Pyrrha's previous negativity getting the better of her, something that she would not allow again. Yet even as Pyrrha continued to assure herself, the slight nagging feeling refused to go away even as she made her way back towards her team's dorm room.

* * *

"Pyrrha?"

Pyrrha jumped when she felt a soft touch to her shoulder before she immediately collected herself and looked over to the concerned face of her leader.

"It's alright Jaune, I'm just deep in thought at the moment."

Jaune looked at her silently for a few moments before he sighed and nodded with an encouraging smile on his face.

"If you say so Pyr," he said before he returned his attention to the book in front of him.

She and Jaune were currently in the library due Jaune wanting to study just a bit more before the upcoming written test in Dr. Oobleck's class. Jaune had originally planned to go alone, but due to recent events, Pyrrha asked, practically begged, if she could go with him. While confused Jaune was still more than happy for her company and thus here they were. Ren and Nora would have been here as well, but they were currently scrubbing the walls of the dust lab because of something Nora did. Pyrrha could only imagine what it was.

In the meantime, while being in close proximity with Jaune helped quite a bit, the events of the morning still left Pyrrha a little shaken. She wanted to talk to Jaune about it, she really did, but how was she supposed to talk about something that she wasn't even sure of herself? Between the ominous dream as well as Aika's little visit, Pyrrha didn't know what to think.

"Oh, hey Ian!"

Pyrrha was once again jolted out her thoughts by Jaune's voice, only this time he wasn't talking to her. It took a bit to register what Jaune had said and even longer to realize what it implied.

 _Ian? That means…_

An image of Aika appeared in her head and she immediately looked behind her to see Ian Reinhardt himself approaching the table, his hands in his pockets with a bored look on his face. Pyrrha paid him little mind, her eyes on the person skipping and humming behind him, a small book hugged to her chest. The two stopped at the table Jaune and Pyrrha were sitting at, Ian sparing Pyrrha a passing glance before turning his attention to Jaune while Aika simply sat herself onto a nearby table swinging her legs happily. Pyrrha stared at her through the corner of her eyes, her mind racing on a way to confront her about this morning.

"Arc, still hard at work I see?" said Ian, in his mellow tone.

Jaune let out a warm laugh.

"Well my mom always said: 'Hard work will take you a long way!'" he said with big grin.

Aika let out a giggle at the remark. As harmless as it sounded, it still sent shivers down Pyrrha's spine.

"I see that you're quite the momma's boy, given that you're always ready with silly quotes from her."

Jaune simply smiled even brighter.

"Hey, my mother had good advice, so I can't help but quote her!"

"Even if this particular quote is kind of common sense?" asked Ian nonchalantly.

Pyrrha narrowed her eyes at Ian's biting remark. Jaune, however simply rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"That's true, but I still heard those words from her mouth so I'll stick with it!" Jaune said.

Ian simply rolled his eyes at this, while Aika continued to giggle. Pyrrha's eyes once again flicked to Aika, her fingers twitching. Pyrrha wanted nothing more than to grab the faunus girl by the collar and demand answers for this morning, but she knew she couldn't. Her leader wouldn't stand for such an action and she was sure Ian was just waiting for her to give him an excuse to take action against her.

"Is there a reason why you're staring so hard at my partner, Nikos?"

Pyrrha blinked only to realize that she was now the center of attention, with Ian staring down at her with his ever judging stare, Jaune with a frown of concern, and Aika… with a look of confusion. Pyrrha felt a small spike of emotion at Aika's expression, but immediately swallowed it back down in order to address the current situation she found herself in.

"I was just wondering what book she was holding," Pyrrha answered smoothly.

Ian raised a brow.

"I had no idea you were into books, Nikos," he said, "I thought you'd be too busy bashing into drones to care about literature."

"There's a lot that you don't know about me, Reinhardt," answered Pyrrha.

She stared right into his eyes, challenging him, he stared right back with the same gaze he held before. There was a tense silence before Jaune decided enough was enough.

"So what book is that Aika?" asked Jaune with a voice a bit louder than usual.

Pyrrha broke the staring contest in order to look at Aika, actually a tad curious to what Aika held in her arms. The girl in question let out a delighted giggle as she hopped onto her feet.

"Oh it's wonderful Jay-Jay!" Aika said, "This library has everything! I've been looking everywhere for this along with many others!"

"Aika, he asked you about your porn's title not its backstory," deadpanned Ian.

Aika puffed out her cheeks and glared indignantly at her partner.

"The backstory's just as important! And it's not porn!"

Ian rolled his eyes.

"Porn, smut, same difference."

"It's not smut!"

Jaune let out an awkward chuckle at the argument while Pyrrha continued to stare at Aika. The girl in front of her was a huge contrast to the Aika she had met out on the ledge. Were they really the same girl? Was Pyrrha just seeing things?  
 _"He's going to die you know."_

Pyrrha clenched the hand on her lap into a fist before she looked over towards her leader who was now genuinely laughing at the ordeal unfolding before him as Ian and Aika continued their banter.

 _Wrong. He's not going to die. I will never allow it._

Pyrrha made the declaration in her mind as she looked at her leader even as he returned her gaze with a smile. Pyrrha couldn't help but smile back. Yes, he wasn't going to die, because Pyrrha didn't know what she would do without that smile to brighten her day. The nagging feeling at the back of her head be damned.


	6. Chapter 5: A Forest of the Same Red

**Chapter 5: A Forest of the Same Red**

 _"Everyone get to the evac shuttles!"_

 _"There's too many of them!"_

 _"They're coming around the flank!"_

 _"PYRRHA!"_

"Hey Pyrrha!"

Pyrrha jolted upright, here eyes wide and frantically scanning her surroundings. Slowly her memories started to kick into gear and Pyrrha started to remember where she was. She and her team were currently in a bullhead across from team RWBY in a fieldtrip to a place known as Forever Fall, a unique forest known for its ever-red leaves as if it were perpetually fall in that area, hence the name. The eight huntsmen in training were currently strapped into their seats by metal harnesses with their weapons secured to their right.

Pyrrha yawned before looking over to the person who had shouted her name not too long ago only to see Jaune with a frown of concern on his face.

"You alright there Pyrrha? You passed out not too long ago I just want to make sure you're not too tired," Jaune said.

Pyrrha blinked before she became very aware of the stares from the other occupants in the bullhead, all of them with varying looks of concern.

 _I can't really fault them for that._

Pyrrha hadn't really had the best of nights for the past few days ever since her run in with Aika. Ever since that day she had been getting ominous visions in her sleep, all of them morbid, and all of them depicting her leader. With each passing night the images became more vivid leading to a rather sleepless night thus leaving Pyrrha as she was today, more than a bit exhausted from the lack of sleep. Still, Pyrrha refused to show such a weakness to her team. Humble she may be, but she does still have a bit of pride in her.

"I'm alright, it just took me a bit longer to get to sleep than usual last night," answered Pyrrha.

Jaune stared at her for a moment clearly not believing her, but he simply sighed and dropped the subject instead offering a kind smile.

"Well if you say so, just make sure to get some more sleep next time okay?"

Pyrrha nodded to Jaune.

"I will."

Jaune nodded back to Pyrrha before he looked back across towards team RWBY.

"So Vomit Boy, seems like you're looking pretty peppy despite being in the air," said Yang, "I wonder why that is?"

Jaune let out a grin as he straightened his back.

"Well, I'll have you know that on one of JNPR's grocery errands, I stumbled upon a pharmacy and I found this magical pill made specifically for people like me so that we too can brave the horrid monstrosities of the sky!" he stated theatrically.

"You mean motion sickness pills that are literally in every pharmacy," Blake stated blandly.

"You can find them in several dust shops and grocery stores too," added Ren with an equal amount of blandness.

Jaune visibly deflated at that.

"Yeah so I was a bit ignorant of that fact, what of it?" he grumbled.

"Trust me Vomit Boy, we _all_ know how ignorant you are of _certain_ things," stated Yang as she threw a smirk Pyrrha's way.

Pyrrha simply held her smile on place even though on the inside Pyrrha wanted to grab the other girl by the collar and shake her like a ragdoll. To make matters worse it seemed the rest of the occupants agreed with Yang as several knowing sighs sounded throughout the bullhead… even from the cockpit!

"What are you all talking about?"

Pyrrha looked over at Ruby with a look of pure innocence on her face as she stared at her sister with curious and indignant eyes.

 _Bless your soul Ruby._

Yang of course simply patted Ruby on the head stating something about 'being older', which of course set Ruby into a fit about 'drinking milk'. Pyrrha leaned her head back and watched the exchange with a small smile on her face. It was moments like these that allowed Pyrrha to forget about her hardships no matter what they were even if it was only a temporary relief.

 _Speaking of which._

Pyrrha looked over at her leader who was currently laughing at the sisters' antics.

"Did you make sure to bring some pills for the way back?" asked Pyrrha.

Jaune froze and slowly looked at Pyrrha with a smile frozen on his face even as his eyes morphed from joy to horror.

"Aw crud…" he stated in a small voice.

"Sorry in interrupt your conversation back there, kiddos, but we'll be at the LZ in approximately five minutes, make sure you got all your gear prepped for combat just incase things get sour during landing," called the pilot, his voice resonating from the speakers.

"Thanks!" chirped Ruby as she took out Crescent Rose and began making sure everything was in working order, "Five minutes guys, let's make it quick!"

It sometimes amazed Pyrrha just how quickly Ruby can get down to business after acting so childish earlier. Pyrrha looked over at her own leader to see that he too adopted a serious face as he began checking on the mechanisms of his retractable shield/sheath. His concentration seemed to be on a higher degree, most likely trying to forget about the fact that he was going to have to deal with his motion sickness on the trip back. Pyrrha couldn't help but let out a smile as she took out her own weapons and prepped them for battle.

"Three minutes," stated the pilot.

"Three minutes," repeated Jaune.

Pyrrha smirked knowing why the leaders were constantly repeating the time; it was something that Professor Goodwitch pulled every team leader to the side for, apparently being in charge of the leadership class that Ruby and Jaune had been talking so much about.

"One minute."

"Alright guys one minute," stated Ruby as she hefted Crescent Rose with one hand while the other was prepped to release her harness.

Pyrrha moved to do the same her body suddenly tense with anticipation. She was told of the dangers of Forever Fall as while it was not as concentrated as some areas, there were still Grimm lurking around in those parts thus students were told to exercise caution when venturing through the woods. The bullhead lurched as it made its descent, the back door slowly opening allowing sun to blare into the cabin causing Pyrrha to wince as her eyes adjusted to the light.

"Alright kids, this is your stop, try not to get eaten or anything,"the pilot joked.

"Thanks for the ride!" called Ruby.

"Alright guys harnesses off," stated Jaune.

Pyrrha undid her harness causing it to flip up until it the safety pistons slowed its momentum allowing it to slowly press itself flush with the wall above her seat. Pyrrha got up and hefted Milo in her right hand, her left holding onto the metal bar located right above the isle in order to give stability to those standing. There was a slight jolt as the bullhead landed, the only warning Pyrrha had.

"Go! Go! Go!" shouted Ruby.

Pyrrha burst into action as rushed out of bullhead behind her teammates with her leader in tow. The two teams immediately took their positions surrounding the bullhead their weapons brandished and ready for any possible threat. Team RWBY was to be in charge of the left flank while Team JNPR was in charge of the right. This was a standard procedure, one that every team going on this team practiced the day before in several drills made by Professor Goodwitch. It was ingrained into Pyrrha's muscle memory at this point… thus why her mind was allowed to freeze for a moment even as her body took her to where she needed to go…

 _ **Everything was red, the trees, the ground, her hands… it was all so red.**_

Pyrrha gritted her teeth as she stared out towards the forest.

 _Enough, calm down, negative thoughts will only lead to more Grimm._

Pyrrha took a deep breath as she attempted to slow her rapidly beating heart. Every moment felt like an eternity for Pyrrha as she stared at the seemingly endless red forest that surrounded her and her team. The sounds of other bullheads landing reached Pyrrha's ears along with the shouts of fellow students as they took the same positioning as they had just done.

"Clear!" shouted a voice not too far away.

"Clear!" shouted another voice that seemed to come from bit farther away.

"Very good students," called Professor Goodwitch's voice, "I would like all team leaders to gather here so that I can give you your assignments, the rest of you stay vigil, the Grimm can attack at any moment if you lower your guard."

"See you in a bit guys," stated Jaune as he jogged over towards Professor Goodwitch.

Pyrrha felt her heart quicken he left her vision.

 _ **"He's going to die you know."**_

Pyrrha felt herself take a sharp breath as she tried to brush the idea out of her head.

 _No. Calm down. That is not going to happen._

"Pyrrha? You okay?" asked Nora who was beside her.

Pyrrha looked over at Nora who was looking back at her from the corner of her eye every once in a while. Pyrrha went back to focusing on her task.

"I'm fine," she responded curtly, and bit coldly.

No response came from her fellow huntress likely going back to focusing on her task as well making Pyrrha feel a twinge of guilt.

 _I'll apologize to her later._

Pyrrha looked out at the red forest once again, trying to shake off the images that came to her head.

 _That is if I can keep my sanity by the end of this…_

* * *

"Alright, here's good, let's get to work so that we can get done quickly and yes Nora that means no eating sap from the jars," stated Jaune.

Nora let out a moan.

"But Jauneyyyyyy it tastes so goooood!"

Jaune shook his head with a chuckle at his teammates antics leave it to Nora to be the child of the group, not that Jaune would have it any other way. Besides Nora was a big girl, she knew when to focus when things got more serious and if she forgot herself, Ren was there to makes sure she got back on the right track. He watched the two set to work on the tree sap while going off on their usual antics before he turned to his partner.

"We should get to work as well, Pyr," said Jaune.

"Mmm," answered Pyrrha.

Jaune frowned a bit at the half-hearted answer Pyrrha gave. The girl was currently facing away from Jaune, scanning the trees for what Jaune assumed to be Grimm or other threats. Jaune sighed before he walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Pyrrha."

Pyrrha seemed to jump at Jaune's touch before she slowly and somewhat sheepishly turned to Jaune unable to meet his eyes.

"Y-Yes Jaune?" she asked.

Jaune's concern only increased upon seeing his usually so confident and composed friend in such a tizzy.

"Are you feeling alright? I know that I'm bit allergic to the sap, but if you are as well…" Jaune started.

Pyrrha immediately cut him off with a wave of her hands.

"No! No! I'm just… well I'm feeling a bit… distracted at the moment."

Jaune sighed at the cryptic answer. He knew for a long time that his partner was probably one of the most secretive people that he had ever met. Even Blake opened up more than Pyrrha did.

 _I know that I said that I'd wait until she was ready to open up, but right now is a bad time to be getting distracted._

Jaune opened his mouth to speak when suddenly a twig snapped followed by the ruffling of a nearby bush. Jaune's hand immediately snapped to his sword as he turned to face a potential threat, his partner tensing right beside him. What came out of the bush wasn't a Grimm but still equally as unpleasant. It was a fellow hunter-in-training bleeding profusely from the stomach while carrying his unconscious teammate over his shoulder. If Jaune remembered correctly the boy was Dove Bronzewing of team CRDL.

"Help… please…" wheezed Dove looking ready to collapse.

Jaune immediately went to Dove's side scanning the area for any potential threats. Ren had also jumped into action taking Dove's unconscious teammate off his hands allowing Dove to finally rest a bit.

"We got you Dove, where's your leader?" asked Jaune.

Dove stared up at Jaune with tears rolling down the sides of his face before he suddenly grabbed Jaune by the collar.

"Please," the boy whispered, "Please save Cardin, he stayed behind so that we could escape, we ran like cowards… they got Sky… he's all alone… some needs to help him…"

Dove's speech slowly turned to muddled begging and sobbing as blood loss began to finally take hold of him. Jaune gritted his teeth before he looked towards Nora.

"Nora, take Dove and go with Ren to the shuttles, tell the professor what's going on," ordered Jaune, "Pyrrha and I will go tell Team RWBY what's going on."

Nora did as she was told albeit begrudgingly.

"You better be safe out here fearless leader," grumbled Nora.

Jaune only nodded to her before looking to Ren who simply gave Jaune a curt nod before he and Nora set off with the injured members of CRDL. Jaune turned to Pyrrha who continued to stare at the retreating forms of Nora and Ren. Jaune grabbed Pyrrha's shoulders and shook them causing her to be shaken back to reality, her eyes meeting Jaune's automatically.

"I need you to be focused Pyrrha," he stated, "Now's not the time to have you head in the clouds."

This seemed to shake Pyrrha out of her trance as she quickly nodded.

"Jaune!"

Jaune looked up and smiled in relief to see all the members of RWBY unharmed although he was a bit surprised to see Ian and Aika with them.

 _Doesn't matter, we could probably use their help right now._

Jaune released Pyrrha and stepped up to the approaching team.

"It's good to see that you're all safe," said Jaune.

Ruby grinned back.

"Same here! Where's Ren and Nora?"

"I sent them back with injured," said Jaune, the mood turning somber once more, "Only two of them, Cardin apparently stayed behind to fend off Grimm… Sky…"

There was silence as the rest filled in the blank. Jaune took a deep breath.

 _Breath Jaune, you can't lose your cool now._

Jaune then addressed the group as a whole.

"I'm going to try and find Cardin," he announced gathering all of the attention to him, "If he's alive, I'm going to try and get him out of there."

"Don't be an idiot, Jaune," growled Ian, "I get that you wanna be a big hero, but face reality, Winchester's most likely dead and you'd be risking your life for the small chance that he's alive."

Jaune met Ian's gaze evenly.

"Even if that chance is less than one percent I'm still going to take it," stated Jaune, "I'll go on my own if I have to."

"Like hell we're letting you go alone Vomit Boy," stated Yang, her eyes a shade of red as she slammed her fists together.

"Team RWBY has your back, Jaune," said Ruby with a look of determination.

Jaune nodded before he looked over at his partner who seemed to be paler than usual.

 _Is she really this shaken about the entire ordeal?  
_ Jaune shook his head and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Maybe you should go back-," he began.

"NO!" shouted Pyrrha so suddenly and loudly that it caused Jaune to stagger back a little.

Pyrrha's emerald eyes seemed to bear down upon Jaune with a great amount of desperation as she gripped onto his hoodie like it was a lifeline.

"Don't say that, never say that!" she practically begged, "I need you know you are safe, don't send me away!"

Jaune blinked at this erratic behavior by his partner, his concern now at an all time high. It frustrated him to no end that all this was happening at the same time. With a sigh to calm himself, Jaune gently took Pyrrha's hands in his.

"Alright Pyrrha, I won't, but I need you to be focused so that you can watch my back, can you do that for me?" asked Jaune.

Pyrrha nodded eagerly. Jaune nodded easing Pyrrha's grip on his hoodie before he looked to Ian.

"And you?"

Ian stared back at Jaune for a moment before he let out a sigh of frustration.

"We're wasting time here, if your friend _is_ alive, we've just dwindled his chances by standing here."

* * *

Pyrrha ran alongside her leader as their impromptu rescue team ran towards the last known location of Team CRDL's wayward leader. She was glad that her leader didn't send her away. She didn't know if she would have been able to keep her sanity in check if that happened. The voices were only getting worse however along with the visions becoming more and more vivid, to the point where she was starting to see things that Pyrrha knew weren't there. It all got worse when Pyrrha saw the blood that was escaping Dove's wound.

 _I need to focus! Jaune can handle himself. Things won't go badly. Things won't go badly._

Yet despite the forced reassurance in Pyrrha's mind, her heart told her that the following events wouldn't go as she hoped they would.


	7. Chapter 6: What is True Pain?

**Chapter 6: What is True Pain?**

There was silence among the group as they continued their trek along the red landscape. The only sounds that met Pyrrha's ears were the heavy footfalls of combat boots and the various levels of breathing. Pyrrha had a general idea of what everyone was thinking as she was thinking around the same lines.

 _What will we find when we get there?_

There were many possibilities, none of them pleasant to think about especially if the words from Dove were to be believed.

"I think I hear fighting," stated Aika suddenly, her usually playful tone deathly serious and cold.

A sound of agreement came from Blake at those words. Pyrrha figured the faunus of the group would hear the sounds much earlier than the rest would although she briefly questioned Blake's ability to do so, but shook it off.

 _I need to focus. Jaune may very well pay the price if I don't._

"Are we headed in the right direction?" asked Jaune.

"Yes," answered Aika.

Jaune nodded before he increased his pace.

"Alright, fighting is a good sign!" he stated, "Get ready to join in on the action everyone!"

There were sounds of agreement from RWBY while Pyrrha could only nod firmly. She stole a glance at Aika and Ian only to see that they simply looked a bit tenser than before, likely readying themselves for the fight ahead.

It was then that Pyrrha started to hear the roars of irritated ursa along with the sounds of bone plating colliding with metal. There was also another sound that made Pyrrha shiver. It was the sound that was foreign to Pyrrha never having heard anything like it in her life. It was only when the rescue team reached the battle that Pyrrha found out what exactly the sound was.

Standing there in a clearing was Cardin Winchester looking slightly worse for wear, his shiny armor in tatters, his clothes ripped, and his hair a mess. Cuts and bruises were visible in everywhere and beads of sweat ran along the boy's body as he stood panting. Surrounding him were three ursa and an Ursa Major all growling at him waiting for the right time to pounce.

 _But they're hesitating._

Indeed, none of the ursai looked ready to move in on their lone prey even if he was pretty much dead on his feet. Something was keeping the boy standing, something primal. It was then that Pyrrha's eyes traveled down to Cardin's feet.

 _ **Red.**_

Lying there at Cardin's feet was his teammate Sky… or at least what was left of him. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the boy just a corpse at this point, but it did not explain why Cardin was fighting so hard.

 _What makes him fight the way he does?_

The torrent of emotions that seemed to surround Cardin like an aura chilled Pyrrha to the core. It was too alien, too unknown and that terrified Pyrrha to no end. Death was a natural part of life; Pyrrha understood this. With this profession, death of a fellow hunter or huntress was a very real risk; Pyrrha understood this as well. Nothing could have ever prepared Pyrrha for when it actually happened. Yet, even as Pyrrha looked upon this scene she was horrified when a stray thought appeared in her head.

 _ **At least it's not Jaune.**_

It was a horrible thought; yet here Pyrrha was thinking it because at the end of the day, it was Sky lying there in the pool of his own blood. Not her leader. Not Jaune.

 _ **But it isn't over yet.**_

Pyrrha spotted her leader charging forward while brandishing his weapon. The ursa barely had time to react as Jaune pounced the nearest ursa, stabbing his blade into the exposed neck. The creature let out a gargled cry before it fell causing the red eyes of the remaining ursai to turn towards him. Cardin also turned towards Jaune, allowing Pyrrha to see his face. Pyrrha almost paused upon seeing the expression. It was one that Pyrrha had never seen before, a mix between sadness and anger mashed together into an ugly mess. Tears streamed down usually cocky boy's face as he locked eyes with her leader. Pyrrha didn't know what she would have done if Cardin had looked upon her with such stare, but her amazing leader simply met it with a calm look of assurance, one that seemed to break Cardin out of the trance he was in.

As Ian and Aika pounced upon the remaining regular ursai while Team RWBY assaulted the Ursa Major, Cardin fell to his knees, his gaze falling to the corpse before him. Pyrrha expected him to weep right then and there, but no cries came, there was simply silence from Cardin as he continued to stare at the body of his former comrade.

 _Was this the shock finally settling in? Was it another stage of grief?_

Pyrrha didn't know what to make of the boy before her now. She had never seen Cardin look so… _defeated_.

"Pyrrha."

Pyrrha nearly jumped at her leader's voice, her head whipping over to face him. She nearly reared back upon seeing her leader's expression. It was one that was serious, but within his eyes, Pyrrha spotted the same look she had seen in Ruby's eyes that one moonlit night. It was the gaze of one haunted by a tragic past. What tragedy, Pyrrha could only guess it had something to due with the loss of someone close to them. But Pyrrha couldn't truly know. She had never lost anyone before.

 _And I need to be sure I never do._

A desperate thought, but Pyrrha was beyond desperate at this point. Seeing Cardin in the state he was in, Pyrrha couldn't help but picture herself in the same position.

 _I can't allow that, it won't happen._

Suddenly a hand dropped upon Pyrrha's shoulder and Pyrrha suddenly found her leader before her, his eyes boring into her own. Pyrrha's breath caught upon seeing the intensity and raw emotion in his gaze.

"Focus Pyrrha, I need you to be at your best."

Pyrrha quickly nodded.

"I know, I am," stated Pyrrha, brandishing Milo and Akouo as proof.

Jaune's gaze stayed on her for a while before he then turned towards the rest of the group, whom had just dispatched of their targets thanks to the element of surprise.

"Stay ready, there could be more out there."

There were solemn nods from the rest; Yang and Weiss seemed to have the same reaction as Pyrrha, not willing to look too long at the corpse before Cardin, unsure how to act. The rest… looked accepting, as if they had seen something similar to this before: Ian, Jaune, Aika, Blake… even Ruby. Pyrrha glanced at Ruby in wonder. Pyrrha had expected the young prodigy to be the most shaken by this ordeal, but the girl didn't seem at all fazed by the gruesome display before her, in fact Ruby seemed to be even more focused if nothing else.

"Team RWBY take defensive positions, stay alert," stated Ruby in a cool, calculated voice.

This seemed to throw off her team just as much as Pyrrha as they paused to stare at the young girl for a moment before doing as they were told. Pyrrha caught the look of concern on Yang's face making Pyrrha wonder what Ruby was hiding that she couldn't even consult with her own sister.

 _Not now._

Pyrrha looked back towards her leader who was now crouched beside Cardin, looking down at what used to be Sky.

"C'mon Cardin… we need to move," said Jaune in a low voice.

Cardin was silent for a moment before he reached out towards the corpse.

"I need to bury what's left. I need to…" Cardin's speech faded to incoherent mumbling to Pyrrha, but Jaune seemed to understand perfectly.

"I know, we aren't leaving him behind, we may need a stretc-," began Jaune.

"I'll carry him," stated Cardin growled, glaring at Jaune as if challenging him.

Jaune met his look evenly.

"Alright. You carry him, we'll watch your back."

Cardin's glare didn't leave, but he nodded before taking the body up in his arms and slowly getting up. Pyrrha watched the tall boy sluggishly stand, carrying his cargo as if it were a newborn. The boy's slow movement made it painfully obvious that Cardin was on the last of his energy reserves. The adrenaline of the battle slowly starting to fade but being forced to stay due to sheer desperation and determination. It was… incredible to see.

"We're moving everyone," stated Jaune, "Stay on your guard."

Pyrrha shook herself from her stupor as she readied her weapons suddenly realizing that she had done nothing to help in the fight before due to her addled thoughts.

 _I can't afford to do that again._

Pyrrha took a deep breath.

 _Focus Pyrrha, you'll have time to worry about this later._

With that thought Pyrrha's eyes darted around the forest, her eyes peeled for any Grimm that may dare to attack the group, specifically her leader. Seeing Cardin had heightened the urgency to keep Jaune safe.

 _There's no way I'm going to let Jaune meet the same fate… no way in hell._

It seemed that fate had a sense of humor given that right after that thought a single word was heard.

"Ambush!"

* * *

Jaune immediately brought his shield up to defend himself from an assault from a beowolf as it leapt from the trees in hopes of pouncing him. Jaune gritted his teeth as he pushed the beowolf off before following up with a shield bash. The metal slammed against the beast's bone-plated head causing it to stagger back. Jaune immediately followed up with a quick slice of his sword effectively beheading the Grimm before it could recover. Jaune didn't have time to revel in his small victory, however as more beowolves jumped from the surrounding forest. Jaune clicked his tongue in annoyance at this.

 _This damn forest is a perfect cover for the Grimm; I didn't see them at all!_

As Jaune engaged another beowolf that tried to sneak up on Cardin, he took note of the sheer number of beowolves that were engaging them in this unsettlingly well-coordinated ambush.

 _How the hell did we miss all of these Grimm? Were they waiting for us?_

Jaune's thoughts were interrupted when the beowolf he was engaging grabbed his shield its claws effectively keeping him from moving. Jaune narrowed his eyes ready to try and wrestle it away when he heard the sound something loping in his direction at high-speed. Thinking fast, Jaune quickly slipped his arm from his shield strap before rolling away just in time for another beowolf to fly past him in an attempt to blind side him.

 _That was close._

Jaune didn't pause as he leapt towards the beowolf still staggering around with his shield clearly not expecting him to let it go so suddenly. Taking his sword in both hands, he thrust it up into the Grimm's exposed chin effectively killing the beast before taking his shield back into his possession from the limp, dissolving appendages. Jaune quickly took this time to fully assess the situation they were in.

Team RWBY was currently protecting Cardin, having surrounded him in all fronts batting away any Grimm that came near. It was effective for now, but Jaune knew that certain members of the team were not suited for such defensive fighting. Aika and Ian were a bit farther from the group taking some of the pressure off RWBY by serving as bait, but those two could only last so long without help. Then there was him and Pyrrha.

"Jaune!"

Jaune was taken out of his thoughts at yet another beowolf leaping at him with its fangs bared. Jaune didn't even have time to bring his shield up before a streak of red pounced on the incoming beowolf. Pyrrha made short work of the Grimm by stabbing it through the heart before pushing it away. Pyrrha then spun to look at Jaune.

"Jaune, are you okay?"

Jaune blinked at the concern in Pyrrha's voice but shook it off knowing it was not the time to deal with her odd behavior.

"I'm fine Pyr, thanks for the save."

Jaune then went back to thinking up a strategy.

 _While we have the correct idea in keeping these beasts at bay, we don't have the correct placement…_

After a second of thinking, Jaune's eyes snapped open.

"Pyrrha, come with me," stated Jaune before he took off towards Cardin.

He heard Pyrrha immediately run in tandem with him allowing him to focus on his next set of orders.

"Ruby! Blake! Break off and help Aika and Ian! Pyrrha and I will cover for you!"

Ruby locked eyes with Jaune, her brow furrowing for only a moment before it clicked in her head why Jaune was telling her this. With a quick nod, Ruby turned to her team.

"You heard the man! Blake, with me! Weiss! Yang! Keep up the pace, don't let any beowolf touch Cardin!"

"Understood!"

"I'm all over it, sis!"

"As if I would!"

Jaune couldn't help the small smirk at the small banter between the members of Team RWBY.

 _They're a good team._

Jaune then flicked his eyes towards his partner.

"Alright Pyr, you cover Blake's flank, and I'll cover Ruby's, got it?" he stated.

Pyrrha looked back at Jaune, an unreadable emotion flitting across her eyes before she nodded.

"Got it."

Jaune briefly wondered about the strain in Pyrrha's voice, but didn't think too hard on it, quickly sliding into position as Ruby ran off with Blake to assist Ian and Aika. Jaune took a glance back at Cardin.

"You alright there Cardin?"

Cardin didn't vocally respond, instead just nodding his head. Jaune took note at how utterly tired Cardin looked at this moment.

 _Not good, but honestly it could be worse._

"Sorry to push you Cardin, but we need to get moving, just keep walking in the same direction you were before, we'll take care of the rest," stated Jaune.

After getting another weak nod from the Cardin, Jaune turned his attention back to his surroundings only for another beowolf to jump him.

 _This is starting to get old!_

Jaune let out a grunt of annoyance as he bashed the beowolf off before stabbing it in the mouth. Jaune quickly took his sword out and readied himself for another.

"How many of these things are there?!" growled Yang beside him the sound of her shotgun gauntlets echoing across the forest.

 _Too many._

In the brief glances he was able to make throughout the battlefield, he managed to count at least two dozen, and it looked like there were still many more coming in. Still at the pace they were going along with everyone at the right position, they would be able to hold out.

"Just hold this pace everyone! Help is on the way! Just keep moving!" shouted Jaune as he bashed away yet another beowolf that tried to jump him.

It was honestly all he could do at this point, a few pointless words of assurance. Jaune wasn't even sure if anyone even heard him, let alone found comfort in his words. Still, it kept Jaune's mind focused on the task at hand, and he'd be damned if he let his focus slip now.

 _I'm not letting someone else die on my watch. Never again._

"Alpha!" Ian's voice suddenly shouted, piercing through Jaune's thoughts, "We have an Alpha!"

Jaune's eyes widened.

 _Please tell me this is a joke._

Jaune's hopes were dashed when he spotted a beowolf twice the size of the ones they were fighting loping over towards the group, bashing down trees as it went.

 _Bad, bad, bad, this is bad!_

Jaune felt panic starting to take hold as he tried to think a way out of this situation. From what he had learned about Alphas, their very presence seemed to have an effect on those under them, making them stronger than they already were. Taking that information into account with the situation before them, this Alpha would be empowering the twenty or so beowolf that were in Jaune's field of view.

 _Damn it! Damn it! What do we do now?!"_

"Jaune!"

Jaune looked over towards Ian, who hadn't taken his eyes off the incoming Alpha.

"Aika and I will take care of the Alpha! You worry about the rest!"

Jaune didn't have a chance to refute Ian's answer as he and Aika charged towards the Alpha. Jaune gritted his teeth. While Ian's decision did take care of the Alpha problem, there was still the smaller beowolves that were the problem, and without the help of Aika and Ian, Ruby and Blake would not be able to hold for long. Making his decision Jaune turned his gaze upon Yang who held a look of worry as she continued to bat off beowolves.

"Yang! Weiss! Go help your leader!" he shouted.

Yang's eyes flicked to his, her eyes full of confusion.

"What?! Jaune I can't just leave you and Pyrrha alone here!" exclaimed Yang.

"If you stay here, Ruby and Blake will be overwhelmed," stated Jaune evenly, "Pyrrha and I are the best equipped with defending, we'll stay put with Cardin, now go!"

After a moment of hesitation, Yang took off to assist her sister. Weiss went with her, but not before leaving behind a couple of words.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Arc," she stated.

 _I do too, Weiss._

Jaune took a deep breath before let out a grunt as another beowolf tried to pounce him. Jaune simply bashed it away just in time for Blake to come sweeping by to take it out before moving on to the next threat. Jaune reset himself as another beowolf leapt at him.

* * *

Pyrrha grunted as she batted off another beowolf that tried to get at Cardin and her leader. Time had long ago eluded her as she continued to repeat the same process over and over again.

 _Block. Bash. Stab. Reset._

It was the pattern that was going through her head like a mantra as she worked to conserve enough energy to hold out with against all the beowolves on her end. Despite having fewer to deal with thanks to the efforts of Team RWBY, Ian and Aika, there were still quite a few beowolves to deal with. Outright killing was not an option as the energy and time required to take out this many beowolves while trying to keep Cardin safe at the same time would result in disaster as her leader had been kind enough to explain to her.

 _"Just keep them away with our shields, if you can get a good stab in, great, otherwise just get back into a defensive position and let Team RWBY take care of the rest."_

Thus why Pyrrha stood with Akouo up in front her, eyes watching the Grimm before her with Milo poised to strike. Already a few Grimm had collapsed due to blood loss, but there were still plenty more left.

 _Block. Bash. Stab. Reset. Block. Bash. Stab. Reset._

The mantra continued over and over in Pyrrha's head as she continued through the motions. It was the only thing that was keeping her focused enough to do this for so long. Fatigue and her own restless thoughts were kept at bay… for now. Her thoughts were focused once again as another beowolf came in for the kill, only for Pyrrha to intercept it with Akouo once again and bash it back before stabbing it through the mouth, another kill.

 _Heavy… Annoying…_

Pyrrha pushed the thoughts aside as she continued to push through, her semblance being pushed to its limit as she kept her weapons to bear.

 _Just keep with the pace Pyrrha, keep with it. Block. Bash. Stab. Reset. Block-_

"Jaune! Pyrrha! Look out!"

Pyrrha's mantra was broken at the shout at their direction. Pyrrha barely managed to push away the beowolf that attacked her before her eyes flicked towards the direction of the shout. It was Ian charging towards them along side Aika with a look of urgency on his face. Behind him was the dissolving corpse of the alpha he and Aika had taken down.

 _But wait. He shouted warning at danger. The danger isn't that way._

Pyrrha herself go numb. She had just made one of the worst mistakes a warrior could make.

 _"Never let your guard down during a fight, Pyrrha."_

Pyrrha's father had drilled that into her during her training and yet here Pyrrha was, her eyes off her enemy and completely distracted. Pyrrha whipped her head towards the direction that Ian was facing just in time to see yet another alpha standing over her, poised to cleave her in two. Time seemed to slow even as Pyrrha's body naturally began to move to get into the correct position to block. As this was happening Pyrrha realized a horrible fact.

 _I'm not going to make it._

Even with her reflexes, Akouo was far too heavy to make the journey and Pyrrha's semblance had long since weakened due to fatigue. Realizing this, Pyrrha tried to bring up Milo, hoping that the lighting weapon would reach in time to perhaps block, but Milo wasn't in xiphos form, it was in spear form.

 _Is this how I die?_

Pyrrha stared as the claw continued to descend. It might as well have been death looking her in the eye with a grin on its face.

 _But somehow… I'm not really all that scared._

True, Pyrrha still had that natural instinct to survive, her body's reaction attesting to this, but her mind was… accepting of the fact that she may very well be dead in the next few moments. She had done all she could, but it would seem her luck had finally run out. The very weapons that were made to bring her victory, the pride of Mistral ended up being her with a heavy heart Pyrrha watched the appendage that would deliver her to death… or at least it should have…

"PYRRHA!"

Pyrrha felt something hit her from the side throwing her off balance. She heard the sickening sounds of talons sliding through flesh and bone, but oddly enough she didn't feel pain… Even as Pyrrha fell to the floor and time quickened once again, Pyrrha didn't feel the pain of a deep gash nor the dreariness of blood loss. Yet she felt the warmth of blood against her skin as well as a weight that was not hers on top of her.

 _No… No. No please no!_

Pyrrha quickly looked at what was on top of her, praying to every greater power that she was just being paranoid, but a shock of blonde was enough to confirm her worst nightmares.

"J-Jaune?"

Pyrrha barely registered Ian as he flew past her pretty much body checking the alpha away from her. She heard the shouts of Team RWBY as well as some others but they were just muffled noise. All she saw was the mangled body of her leader. All she heard was the sound of his labored breathing.

 _No…_

Images played in her head. Images of a smiling blonde boy. The boy that accepted her as a friend and didn't look at her through the scope of her fame. She saw a kind boy, a compassionate boy, a loving boy.

 _No…_

The sticky red substance smeared across her hands slowly dripped to the floor.

 _No…_

Each drop was a piece of life fading away from existence joining the pool of red on the dirt floor.

 _No…_

Jaune's eyes opened drearily for a moment to look up at her. It was at that moment time froze as Jaune whispered to Pyrrha weakly even through the blood that flowed through his mouth.

"Sorry… Pyrrha."

It seemed the boy wanted to get more words out, but they died as his last breath was spent. His eyes soon rolled to stare up at the sky… sightless. It was at that moment that Jaune Arc had died and it was also at that moment that Pyrrha Nikos' world shattered.

"NOOOOOOOO!"


End file.
